Peasant farmers neighboring Murchison Falls National Park in Buliisa on Friday stormed the sub-county
headquarters protesting against elephant and Buffalo crop raids.
Men,
women, and children holding placards stormed the Buliisa sub-county
headquarters demanding that the government should urgently intervene to save the situation.
The placards read; “Relief is needed
in Buliisa, No Education for our children due to elephants, No food in Buliisa, Long process for compensation by the government, Five people so far killed by elephants, No government in Buliisa, Government
where are you we are dying due to elephants, Elephants will vote Museveni" among
others.
The protestors were from more than 20 villages located in the sub-counties of Butiaba, Buliisa
Ngwedu,Biiso, and Buliisa town council.
They said elephants and buffaloes have devoured hectares of cassava, maize, beans, sweet potatoes, jack fruits, pawpaws,
and bananas.
They demand that the Uganda Wildlife Authority compensate them for crops destroyed, lives lost, and injuries
inflicted on some of the community members by the wild animals.
Baleke Kasonu, a resident of Kichoke in Buliisa sub-county that neighbors Murchison Falls National Park says, they are being raided by wild
animals like elephants and Buffaloes which destroy their crops and cause
injuries to the community members.
Lugungu byte.
//Cue in: “Mu kicweka ka…
Cue out:…de badori hai.”//
Margret Kabiise, a resident of
Bugana village in Bugana Parish in Buliisa sub-county says, they are on the
verge of starvation since all the crops they had planted have been destroyed
buy elephants.
Lugungu Byte.
//Cue in: “Iba yange de…
Cue in: “ki shalamu byaru.”//
Charlis Katusiime, a resident of Buliisa town council demands that UWA expedites the process of erecting
an electric fence around Murchison Falls National Park to prevent further
invasion of the animals into the community.
Runyoro Byte.
//Cue in: “Kandi ekizibo eku…
Cue out:…Asemere kusiima
president.”//
Geoffrey Ofoimungu, a resident of
Ngwedu sub county states that despite several pleas made by the residents to UWA to
drive the animals away from the community, UWA has adamantly kept a deaf ear.
Alur Byte.
//Cue in: “Peko mawa be…
Cue out:…kawani cam umbe.”//
Robinah Kyakuhaire, a resident of
Buliisa town council, says that they spend sleepless nights as the animals
raid their homes daily. She states that their children have been
forced to drop out of school fearing to be attacked and killed by the stray
elephants.
Lugungu Byte.
//Cue in: “Mali zili nzigu…
Cue out:…tuki kore ki,”//
Kamanda Kabagambe, the Buliisa Sub
County LC3 Chairperson says, for the last four years, residents in his area have
gone through untold suffering following the rampant invasion of elephants from
Murchison Falls National Park that stray into the community.
He says since this year began, five
people have been killed by stray elephants in the sub-county yet no intervention
has been taken by the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) to compensate the families.
//Cue in: “It has been…
Cue out:…process of fencing.”//
Bashir Hangi, the Uganda Wildlife
Authority-UWA spokesperson admits that they have severally received complaints
from residents settling adjacent to Murchison Falls National Park in Buliisa about the
rampant invasion of wild animals stating that, they are doing all they can to
regulate the movements of the animals.
He says, UWA has embarked on
massive recruitment of scouts, field enforcement officers and wardens to be
deployed within communities settling adjacent to the National Park to
immediately respond to emergencies caused by the stray animals.
//Cue in: “We understand that…
Cue out:…destroy people’s crops."//
According to Hangi, though UWA is in the
process of fencing the park, currently they do not have enough resources to
quickly initiate the project.
//Cue in: “We do not…
Cue out:…need electric fencing.”//
In April this year, Fredrick
Kiiza, the Chief Warden of the Murchison Falls conservation area told Uganda
Radio Network-URN in an interview that all arrangements had
been made to ensure that within three months, an electric fence is erected
around the Murchison falls National Park.
In 2022, more than 1,000 Residents
of Buliisa settling near Murchison Falls National Park petitioned UWA over the
rampant invasion of elephants and Buffaloes into the community causing massive
destruction to their crops.
In their petition addressed to
UWA, the residents then stated that they are being raided by wild animals like
elephants and Buffaloes which destroy their crops and cause injuries to the
community members.
The residents in the petition
demanded that UWA should compensate them for crops destroyed and injuries
inflicted on some of the community members by the wild animals.
The petitioners were then from
more than 20 villages neighboring Murchison Falls National Park from the
sub-counties including Butiaba, Buliisa Ngwedu, Biiso, and Buliisa town
council, which all share a common border with the parks.
In their petition then, the
residents too demanded that UWA erect an electric fence around Murchison Falls
National Park to prevent further invasion of the animals into the
community.
