By KT Reporter
Leaders in Amuru District have renewed calls for urgent government intervention to resolve the long-running and deadly Apaa land conflict.
Their demand follows Parliament’s approval of UGX 7.59 billion to revive the stalled Judicial Commission of Inquiry headed by former Chief Justice Bart Katurebe.
The funds were part of a UGX 8 trillion supplementary budget approved on 2 December 2025, with the allocation channeled through the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs to facilitate the commission’s operations, which have remained dormant since its appointment by President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni in 2023 due to financing constraints.
The leaders warn that delays in resolving the dispute have continued to fuel violent tribal clashes, resulting in loss of life, displacement, and destruction of livelihoods in Apaa, a contested area claimed by communities from Amuru (Acholi) and Adjumani (Madi) districts.
Anthony Akol, the Chairperson of the Acholi Parliamentary Group and MP for Kilak North, said the creation of the judicial commission followed sustained appeals by Acholi MPs to President Museveni to address the conflict decisively.
“The people of Apaa have waited too long. This commission was created because Parliamentarians from the region demanded a credible, judicially empowered process to restore peace and bring clarity to ownership and administration,” Akol said.
The Apaa conflict dates back to 2009, when the government resettled families displaced by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) insurgency. Since then, overlapping administrative claims, disputed boundaries, and competing land rights, compounded by conservation interests involving the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), have turned Apaa into one of northern Uganda’s most volatile flashpoints.
Previous commissions of inquiry chaired by former Prime Minister Dr Ruhakana Rugunda and the late former Speaker of Parliament Jacob Oulanyah failed to deliver conclusive outcomes, largely because they lacked judicial powers to compel testimony or enforce findings.
Unlike its predecessors, the Katurebe Commission is established under the Commissions of Inquiry Act (Cap 166) and carries powers equivalent to those of the High Court, including summoning witnesses and demanding production of documents.
The five-member commission comprises Bart Katurebe, Justice Alice Mpagi-Bahigaine, Justice Steven Kavuma Engwau, Joyce Gunza Hasasa, and Dr Fred Henry Bateganya. It is mandated to engage community elders, local leaders, and district authorities in Apaa and surrounding areas, including Aber, Zoka, and Kampala, to propose a lasting solution.
However, community leaders say the humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate. Speaking to Uganda Radio Network (URN), Wilson Acuma, the LC II Chairperson of Gajji Parish in Amuru District, expressed frustration over what he described as a lack of political urgency, despite the conflict’s toll.
“It is painful that the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs is headed by a son of the soil, and the Judiciary by Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo, yet Apaa remains ignored,” Acuma said.
He revealed that on 11 December 2025, armed assailants attacked Gajji village, killing a farm worker and looting food supplies. “This latest attack brings the number of people killed in tribal clashes here to 57 since 2012, according to records kept by local council leaders,” he said.
Acuma added that dozens have been injured, more than 800 huts burnt, and hundreds of families displaced. Livestock theft, disruption of farming, schooling, health services, and trade have become routine across 18 parishes in the Apaa area. “We lack clean water, schools are dilapidated, health centres barely function, and children’s education has been shattered. Government must show political will, not just release money,” he said.
Amuru District Resident District Commissioner Osborn Geoffrey Oceng acknowledged persistent insecurity but said it had been contained by the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) deployed in the area.
“There are occasional criminal attacks in villages such as Acholiber, Oyanga, Luuru, Corro, and Punodyang, but UPDF soldiers have consistently repulsed the assailants and restored calm,” Oceng said.
Oceng argued that earlier commissions failed precisely because they lacked judicial authority. “Now that funding is available and the Katurebe Commission has High Court powers, we pray its inquiry will finally yield results,” he said.
The Apaa dispute persists despite a series of official government declarations. A 2015 Parliamentary Select Committee report confirmed that the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development conducted a boundary opening and demarcation exercise between 13 and 18 September 2015, placing Apaa in Adjumani District.
The report further notes that on 23 October 2017, the Minister of Local Government, acting under the Local Governments Act, formally declared Apaa to be in Mungula Parish, Itirikwa Sub-county, Adjumani District, and not in Labala Parish, Pabbo Sub-county, Amuru District.
President Museveni has publicly stated that government surveyors relied on colonial-era maps during the demarcation exercise and concluded that Apaa lies within Adjumani.
Despite these administrative decisions, the land remains violently contested on the ground. Human rights lawyer Stella Kimjange Lajiri questioned the timing of the fund release, warning that the ongoing 2026 electioneering period could politicise the inquiry.
“Key actors such as Norbert Mao, Gen Moses Ali, MPs, and local leaders are preoccupied with campaigns. This is a sensitive conflict that requires sober leadership, not political manoeuvring,” Kimjange said.
Former Adjumani LC V Chairperson, James Pilli Leku, urged the government to consider compensation for victims as part of conflict resolution. Families who lost loved ones, property, and livelihoods remain unattended. Justice must include reparations,” Leku said.
Meanwhile, Adjumani District Woman MP Jesca Ababiku insisted that the 2017 ministerial declaration should guide resolution efforts. “The President is the key to ending this conflict. Government must clearly communicate and enforce its own decisions,” she said.
The disputed core Apaa area is estimated at 40 square kilometres, while the wider East Madi Wildlife Reserve, which intersects with the conflict, spans approximately 827–831 square kilometres.
Apaa is home to an estimated 50,000 people, including about 23,000 Madi and Bantu settlers, making the dispute not only a boundary issue but a major humanitarian and governance challenge.
As pressure mounts, communities are watching closely to see whether the revived Katurebe Commission will finally break a cycle of inquiries without closure, or become another missed opportunity in one of Uganda’s longest-running land conflicts.
-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
