Banyarwanda innocent, says report

The Uganda government has abandoned Banyarwanda herdsmen, a recently released report suggests. The survey by the Uganda Land Alliance, a non government organisation, also says the tribal conflicts in Uganda involving Banyarwanda should be blamed on government. The 20-page report claims that the pastoralists have expressed desire to abandon nomadism in favour of settling down but that the government is reluctant to help them. “The official government position is that nomadic pastoralism must give way to some settled form of livestock production. However, Government had not provided a framework to make it possible for this transformation to take place,” it states in part. “For example, every where pastoralists migrated to and bought land and attempted to settle down, they had to contend with a lot of local resentment,” it adds. The report was presented to the parliamentary select committee that is investigating the continued accusations against the pastoralists. In the recent past the Banyarwanda nomads have been accused of illegally occupying large chunks of land in various parts of Uganda. But the herdsmen claim to have purchased most of the land. The accusations and counter accusations between the Banyarwanda and the other tribes have resulted into violent clashes in the past.Ends

National

Banyarwanda innocent, says report