For years, residents of Kali village along the disputed border between Yumbe and Obongi districts lived side by side, sharing water sources, markets, and social ties despite lingering questions over administrative boundaries. Today, however, the atmosphere is tense.
What should have been a celebration of development- the opening of community access roads and the construction of VIP latrines has instead reignited a long-standing land conflict, drawing local leaders, residents, and government officials into renewed disagreement over who owns the land where the projects are being implemented.
As excavators clear paths through the bush and construction workers lay foundations for improved sanitation facilities, a familiar dispute has resurfaced, threatening both community cohesion and service delivery.
A conflict rekindled
Residents say the conflict had remained largely dormant for several years. Although disagreements over the exact boundary between Yumbe and Obongi persisted, communities had found ways to coexist peacefully, but that changed when development projects arrived.
The conflict created a lot of insecurity for the community living in that place for about one week, prompting the District Security Committee to organise a security meeting to handle the matter.
The Obongi RDC, Mr Hashaka Mpimbaza, said the insecurity began due to a road project opened by Obongi District.
He said the road, which is about 7km, was opened from Kali up to River Kochi, with bush clearing already done, but what is remaining is shaping and grading.
‘The opening of the road created insecurity in the sense that the two districts are claiming ownership of the land where the road project is being undertaken. As the two security committees of Yumbe and Obongi, we decided to call a security meeting to sort out this problem,’ he said.
He said this is not the first time such a thing has happened. During the 2024 census, a similar incident happened in this disputed area.
‘We can’t as a security committee decide whether this land belongs to Yumbe or Obongi. When there is a conflict between two districts, it is the Ministry of Lands that sorts out the matter by doing a demarcation,’ he said.
‘There is a lot of confusion in this place. The suggestion is, we maintain the status quo, and we all put our efforts together, request the Ministry of Lands quickly to come and sort out this problem because enough is enough; this confusion must not continue,’ he added.
The security committee had a suggestion that the road project should continue because it benefits everybody because there is no proper community access road in the area, but the idea has been rejected by the leaders from the Yumbe side.
The Yumbe district speaker, Mr Samadu Aguku, who represented the district chairperson at the meeting, said one of the issues of contention between Yumbe and Obongi is the opening of the road.
He said it is not right to say Obongi should continue grading this road because Yumbe may think they have lost their independence, and if they say Yumbe should take over, it becomes a problem.
‘Now that the Local Government Act has given us a mandate, you give us an opportunity as District Executive Committee (DEC) members of the two districts to sit and accept whether the road should continue or we suspend it. We are saying this is because the funding of this road project is not clear,’ he said.
‘It is stated that the fuel for opening the road came from the MP Obongi County. Two toilets have been dug here now, and the security team is not aware who owns the land. The ongoing works must be suspended with immediate effect,’ he added.
He said the LCs within the disputed area from the side of Yumbe have been threatened that their stamps shall be collected, saying it’s not a good move and that the leaders from Obongi should be restrained from that bad act.
Community living in fear
Mr Ibrahim Atiku Dalilu, a resident of the area, said the matter started during the census, and UPDF soldiers were brought here by the leaders of Obongi, and they wanted to count us forcefully, but they rejected.
‘When it came to the opening of the road, UPDF and Police officers were again brought here to scare us. These people came with full force to start the work,’ he said.
Mr Sunday Bran, another resident of Ombechi West village, said he is the landlord of the area where the two pit latrines have been dug.
‘These people came with security personnel, but without consultation, they started digging the pits. The aim of these people is not to promote sanitation but to reclaim the area,’ he said.
Mr Bran said he has stayed in this area for over 30 years and that they don’t want interference from Obongi Local Government.
During the security meeting that took place last week, Mr Hassan Kaps Fungaroo, the MP for Obongi constituency, was not allowed to talk; however, when Monitor Publication contacted him at the weekend, he said people already know the truth about the land in question.
He insists that Kali is deeply inside Obongi and the road they have opened is inside Obongi and that there is no border of Yumbe across River Kochi.
‘People want to run away from using the right methods. There are maps of Uganda and the districts, including historical backgrounds of the districts in West Nile that can clearly define the borders of the districts,’ he said.
He added: ‘There were Aringa people who came to Obongi a long time ago; they were welcomed and given land under right of use, and they know the facts. They are not happy about what’s happening now, but they have decided to create villages with new names here.’
He noted that the community access road that has brought problems was opened by Itula Sub-county and that he only came to assist them with fuel because the Sub-county doesn’t have enough resources to undertake the project.
‘What’s true and is personal is the opening of Pit latrines, which is to help our Kapalanga and Miricha clans because we have members of those clans there doing farming in that place,’ he said.
Calls for lasting solutions
Leaders from both districts have appealed for calm and urged residents to avoid violence.
Many are calling upon the central government, survey authorities, and the Ministry of Lands to conduct a comprehensive boundary verification exercise and establish a permanent solution.
The Obongi district Chairperson, Mr Khemis Abibu Buga, said they had viewed that the projects would benefit the local community, but the long-existing border dispute has frustrated their efforts in implementing the project.
‘Writing to the Ministry of Lands will not help us. I have written more than four times, including to my counterpart, the chairperson of Yumbe District, but up to now, there is no feedback,’ he said.
‘My suggestion is that a team that comprises the RDCs, MPs, LC 5 chairpersons, CAOs of the two districts must go to meet those officials in the ministries of local government, lands, including the Prime Minister with immediate effect if we want to succeed,’ he added.
Call for peace and security
Hajji Sulaiman Lubwama Bukya, the Yumbe RDC, said the issue that has happened isn’t a big one, urging the residents in the area to be calm.
‘We have come here not to solve that border dispute but rather the insecurity concerns that are threatening the lives of the people emanating from the contested area. We want people here to co-exist and live peacefully,’ he said.
The security committee, however, resolved that the ongoing project work be suspended for two weeks and that a team from the two districts should go and meet the concerned ministries over the matter and that they will come back with a report for the community.