Residents in West Nile have called on the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) to expedite the delivery of justice and address the growing challenges of gender-based violence (GBV) and land-related crimes in the region.
The residents raised the concerns during a community engagement organised by the ODPP in partnership with the International Development Law Organisation (IDLO) and the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Arua City on Tuesday.
The Community Baraza, attended by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Lino Anguzu, sought to enhance public understanding of the ODPP’s mandate and operations while exploring ways of making justice more accessible to communities and strengthening the criminal justice system. The engagement focused particularly on GBV, land-related crimes and the protection of refugees.
Speaking emotionally in Lugbara Ti, Saidi Mademaga, a resident of Arua Central Division, said his family had faced repeated threats of eviction from their land by local government authorities since returning from exile in the 1970s. Mademaga said despite seeking legal redress over the years, he had never received justice. “I have sold most of my property to reach the office of the DPP; to date, I have not been helped,” Saidi said.
Similarly, Lemani Adirisi Arima, another resident of Arua, said he had endured land grabbing for nearly three decades and appealed to the ODPP to intervene in unresolved land disputes in the region.
Rose Bako, a single mother of three from Oluko Sub-County, said she had also struggled to access her late husband’s land since he died in 2006.
Bako said her in-laws denied her access to the land on the grounds that she was not entitled to own it. She said household property was destroyed, and she was also denied access to crops and fruit trees that she had planted with her late husband.
“I was denied access to my husband’s land, all the household property was destroyed, and I was denied access to all the crops, including fruit trees we planted with my late husband. I have tried to seek justice, but all in vain.”
Meanwhile, Marlon Avutia, the Mayor of Ayivu Division in Arua City, expressed concern over delays in the disposal of land cases, saying prolonged court processes often deny victims timely justice.
Richard Muhereza, the Chief State Attorney at the West Nile Regional Office, acknowledged that GBV and land-related cases constitute a significant proportion of cases handled within the regional court circuit.
However, Muhereza called for collective efforts involving justice actors and communities to address some of the complaints, particularly those rooted in cultural practices.
Anguzu said the concerns raised by residents had provided important insight into the challenges affecting access to justice in the region. He said the ODPP would use the concerns raised during the engagement to devise ways of addressing the challenges, while urging residents to exercise patience as efforts are made to resolve their cases.
According to the Justice, Law and Order Sector report, land-related disputes and GBV account for a significant proportion of crimes committed in Uganda, with such conflicts often resulting in offences including murder, assault and arson-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
