Courtney Howard and Graham Vossburg, Uganda-CAN activists in Western New York, report -

Though they had other places to be and other things to do, Cuba-Rushford Central School juniors Rob Stengel and Mary Ronan were still at school on a Friday afternoon. They could have been home. They could have been hanging out with friends. Instead, they were working for peace in a country thousands of miles away. They know that in Uganda there are children, just like them, being forced to seek cover every night to avoid abduction by a rebel army.

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William Bionx Akena, Uganda-CAN correspondent in Gulu town, reports -

Residents of Kasubi zone in Bardege division in Gulu municipality woke up in shock after two children were burnt to death in a fire that razed four huts last Thursday. According to residents and neighbors, the fire broke out at around 6am.

The children were identified as Akello Debra (two and half years old) and Odong Debra (one and half years old) by their father, Ojara Braxton. He said that the cause of the fire is unknown.

“I left home for a workshop yesterday and I came to check on my children only to find them burning in the house”, he said Sunday with tears rolling down his face.

One of the neighbors said that he woke up after hearing the mother of the children screaming for help and found that the entire hut was being consumed by fire.

“Nothing could be done to help the situation”, said Tabu Micheal, a close neighbor.

The O.C station of Gulu police Ovuru Jucinto confirmed the incident later but said that they are still investigating the cause of the fire.

Meanwhile a woman identified as Betty Acayo last evening stabbed her co-wife to death at Ajulu IDP camp in Patiko Sub County. Betty Acayo stabbed Agnes Lagulu after picking a quarrel with her. The incident happened in Ajulu IDP camp about 20km north of Gulu town.

Later angry relatives of Agnes Lagulu allegedly burned down two huts in retaliation. The situation was later calmed by the UPDF forces in Ajulu.

A local official in Patiko said that this is the third time a similar incident has happened in the camp and that there is need for a police post in the area to maintain law and order.

William Bionx Akena, Uganda-CAN correspondent in Gulu town, reports -

A UPDF court martial has charged and convicted 8 UPDF soldiers and 7 Amuka militia for offenses including improper conduct, reckless driving and desertion of duty.

The 403 brigade unit court martial chaired by captain Richard Okwakol sat last week at the military police barracks in Lira, northern Uganda. Among those charged were three army drivers, Privates Yosam Asimwe, Hared Okiror and Moses Magoba.

The 5th division army commander Lt Deo Akiki said on Friday that Asimwe and Okiror were found guilty of improper driving and consequently sentenced to two and three months in prison respectively. Magola was freed after he was found not guilty.

Five members of the Amuka, an auxiliary civilian militia that works under the UPDF to help protect IDP camps, were jointly charged and found guilty of careless shooting and sentenced to two years in prison. Among the five was a commander within the Amuka. Two other members of the Amuka, Ambrose Ojok and Tom Odong were sentenced to one year each in prison for failure to protect their war materials.

The 5th division army spokesman Lt Deo Akiki said yesterday that the sentences are in line with the UPDF's goal to promote discipline within the rank and file of the military.

William Bionx Akena, Uganda-CAN correspondent in Gulu town, reports -

Eight Karamojong cattle rustlers were killed yesterday evening by the UPDF in Pader district. They were killed after rustling cattles and goats from the locals in the areas east of Amyel village in Pader. According to the 4th division PRO Lt. Chris Magezi, the UPDF recovered 50 goats from the warriers in a place called Akilok and 12 cows were also recovered from the warriors between Adilang and Lira Kato. Magezi said that the warriors also killed 2 civilians north of Lira Palwo and also one civilian between Adilang and Lira Kato in Pader. He said that the UPDF is planning to deploy heavily along the borders of Lira and Pader districts to disarm the Karamojong.

Over 1.5 million northern Ugandans have been moved into internally displaced persons' (IDP) camps since 1996, wrenched from the land that has traditionally occupied a central economic, cultural, and spiritual role in their societies. Before 1996, most northern Ugandans lived directly off the land as small-scale farmers, which is owned under a complex customary system in which land rights are divided between the clan elders and individual families. In the midst of the cultural and economic crises in the camps, land has taken on increased importance. For some, it is the only link to a threatened culture and hope for a brighter economic future.

Judy Adoko is a land rights activist with the Land and Equity Movement in Uganda (LEMU). She has studied issues concerning the land rights and land security of IDPs and other peoples affected by the war in northern Uganda, and has written extensively on the subject. She addressed some of these contentious issues in a recent interview with Uganda-CAN.

Uganda-CAN: What role does land play in the lives of northern Ugandans? Why is the issue of land security so important to the people of northern Uganda, especially IDPs?

Judy Adoko: The north and east of Uganda used to heavily rely on cattle. Cattle were sold for cash in emergencies, paid school fees and dowries, and oxen were used for ploughing. Owning a lot of cattle gave one social prestige and social security. The cattle in East and Northern Uganda were rustled in 1988 and almost immediately, people had to take refuge in camps because of the war. In the absence of cattle, land now takes a central position in lives of people and in meeting their livelihood. It is now the only source of livelihood and security and the source of cash for dowry, school fees, medicine and emergencies. Being displaced from the only remaining asset makes people very insecure and suspicious of government intention towards the land. This suspicion is kept alive by politicians constantly talking about investment and the land in the north lying “idle” and being communally owned (implying no one really owns it).

U-CAN: What are the gravest threats to the land security of IDPs and other northern Ugandans?

JA: There is no certificate or title to land to show ownership of land under customary tenure. Proof of ownership is by use and occupation and by knowledge of people. Boundaries are usually natural landmarks such as rivers, mountains, and grass left uncut on the boundaries over a long period of time on the borders of land. It is now almost 20 years since people vacated their land and started living in camps. Meanwhile, the army has gone around burning grass and cutting trees in search of rebels, destroying some of the natural boundaries and making it more difficult to identify individual plots (although in our research work in 2003, the people felt they can always remember their land).

Many adult have died in camps. Their death means some knowledge concerning who has rights to what land has died with them. Likewise, many children are born in the camps and have no idea what land they hailed from. They would need the information of other good willed family members to show them their land. The greatest threat to people’s land is therefore the continuous stay in camps, the death of the people with information on land rights.

At a broader level, the threat to people’s land rights stems from the fact that the laws governing customary tenure remain unwritten and so changes taking place are not recognized, debated and changed. For example, the clan’s role in protecting land from sale and protecting the rights of women and children is weakening and has not been effectively replaced by state laws. Those most vulnerable to the changes are women and children.

Click below to read the full interview, including Adoko's advice to the international community and Uganda's newly re-elected President Yoweri Museveni about how to promote land security in northern Uganda. Or, click here to visit Uganda-CAN's Land Insecurity resource page, which includes LEMU's contact information.

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