Lamwo

 

At least 30 households in Lamwo district are still stuck in the Ngom Oromo “satellite camp” due to fear of unexploded ordinances that litter their land.

 

Ngom Oromo village in Lamwo district was inaccessible at the height of the insurgency and today harbours T72 anti- personnel mines which were planted in the area and has become a major challenge in preventing the locals access to their land upon which they hope to resettle.

 

Mr Mathew Ocen Akia, the LCV Chairman for Lamwo district said on Saturday that with the fear of getting caught by the booby traps, the families are contemplating how they will access their land which is a source of their livelihood.

 

Akia said the affected villages include, Lote, Micha, Aruru, Ajagikech and Ngomoromo in Lukung sub-county.

 

It is alleged that the NRA/UPDF planted the landmines and those along the boarder with South Sudan, as a measure of preventing the LRA from crossing back into Uganda from the neighbouring country.

 

In 2008 after the cessation of hostilities, the National Mine Action dispatched a team of mine experts to ascertain the extent of the threat posed by the mine in the area.

 

Following the study, a team of de-miners were dispatched to clear the area so that the internally displaced persons would resettle back to their former homes.

 

However, since 2010; the demining team tasked with removing the dangerous explosives in the region, say that they lack the resource to perform the job! 

 

In November 2011, the Government pledged to support the resettlement of the camp interns in Lamwo who are still stuck in the camps over unexploded ordnances but so far that pledge has not been honoured.

 

Musa Ecweru, the Minister for Disasters Preparedness said last week in Gulu that through the Office of the Prime Minster, the government will provide resettlement kits for the interns.

 

Ecweru who was commissioning a demined site in Ngom Oromo village last year said that the interns “need assistance in order for them to resettle back to their original villages.”

 

The Minister also said the government will also extend the same support to the population who are trying to settle in areas bordering National Parks and are faced with attacks from wild animals.