Amuru Land Grab – Apaa Village Evictions: A long process of failure from the state!

That the Northern Uganda have been in deep end of the stick in many eyes is evident, by how lax the state has been to take care of their needs and their rights. That can now be proven by the forceful evictions from land in Apaa Village in Amuru District/Adjumani District. Where the previously have been attempts to make a giant farm for an investor called Bruce Martin and also become sugar cane plantations and factory for Kakira Sugar Factory owned by the Madhvani Group, this goes all the way back to 2006. Therefore, the plans to evict these people has been slow process from the state.

Now in 2018, the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) have evicted dozens upon dozens of the local residents from their lands. As the purge on the village and the area continues, this has been in the making, but the ones losing their lands get nothing, but lose their homes and their livelihoods at the same time. The government authorities have torched the houses and left nothing behind, as they are continuing to evict people. Their lives are no meaningless, as they have to flee their land and are living on the United Nations Compound in Gulu, while awaiting their future, as the state, UWA and the Uganda People’s Defence Force have been evicting them over the last two months. Surely, the hurt is felt and real.

Who can wonder if the state is finalizing the agreement with Madhvani Group to deliver his second sugar factory and also sugar plantation in the area or they are making a game drive from Bruce Martin. However, this is still grabbing the land without any forewarning and also taking their livelihoods without any compensation for the hurt.

The District Land Board and Area Land Board cannot been informed or care to inform the people, as the army and UWA have been busy evicting people with force. They are just pawns on the chess-set, and the authorities in Kampala let it happen. The leadership from afar are accepting it and have gazetted the land and taken the land. Therefore, the people who has settled in Apaa have to flee or be evicted from the land, without any justice or law helping them out. No compensation and nothing left for them.

This sort of play has to stop; I am sure the State House is fully aware and let it happen, as they are getting their cut of the transaction of the land for whatever purposes it has. Its been planned for years, but doesn’t make it better, when they could have had solutions back-in-the-day as the government knew this would come. They were already in talks with both Kakira and with Martin. They knew perfectly well, what was up. There is even a third scenario where the land is sold to someone else named Linton Brimblecombe.

Clearly someone forgot the memo and left it stranded. They just evicting people in the favour of one lucky bastard who capture all lands, without paying the needed ones who was actually living their and done so for generations. This is a violation of the trust between the citizens and the government. Because someone accepted the trade of the land people where living on and had rights too.

The Apaa village and Apaa community deserves better, all of the Acholi deserves better. They are being misused and taken for granted by the government. They are just pawns on the chess-set. No value, the first one in the battle-line to take out so the ones of value can be put into play. That is how it looks from the outside.

This have been planned for decades and now it happens.

Amuru Land Grab: What is ours, is OURS; What is their’s, is OURS; and Whatever is your’s, is still OURS. Peace.

Kakira Sugar Limited addressing farmers strike (02.07.2018)

OLUCOME: L’Agumentation Continuelle de la Dette Interieure au Burundi Sans Contrepartie au Niveau de la Production Nationale qui est en Phase de Recession (21.06.2018)

Burundi: CNARED-Giriteka – Communique (Rectificatif) – (15.06.2018)

Burundi: OLUCOME – Degradation Continuelle de l’Economie Burundaise suite au Manque des Fonds d’Investissements Contrairement aux Discours Politiques du Gouvernement qui Affirment les Realisations de Beacoup de Projets d’Investissements a Ses Propres Fonds (13.06.2018)

Burundi: Note de Service Relative a la Transition entre la Nouvelle et l’Ancienne Constitution au Parlement du Burundi (11.06.2018)

Opinion: I don’t believe that Nkurunziza will step down in 2020!

I do not believe the reports that President Pierre Nkurunziza will step down in 2020 when his “final” third term is ending. As he has already rewritten the Constitution, gotten a favorable verdict in the Constitutional Court to run in 2015 and has reason to step down. As he has consolidated all powers among himself and his closest allies. Even build a youth brigade together with police, military and agents of the government oppress, detain and kill opposition activists and leaders. Therefore, he has no reason to step down. If so, what will he become if he steps down?

Will he become a shoeshine boy on the streets of Bujumbura or merchant. Since he has been the merchant of death and destruction. He has used propaganda and misused power. Shouldn’t he be afraid of stepping down? Since he has oppressed, taken total control and gotten rid of everyone standing in his way. Doesn’t he think that someone will have his crimes challenged if he steps down?

Seems like a dream after a 13 years of nightmare. He is supposed to just deliver 15 years of darkness and lack of dim light. I have feeling this isn’t real, other people like he has promised to step down and never did. They have said they would do so if the public wanted it. However, they have lingered for decades upon decades. Rigged elections, used the military as his power-tool to put the people into submission. Also the Imbonerakure to silence his opposition together with the Police. Therefore, he has little reason step down.

If someone is rewriting the Constitution to fit him, has all powers and should be afraid of prosecution and retribution after all the ills he has done. He would earn little to step down, unless he got a villa near Yahya Jammeh in Equatorial Guinea. That is the place where he should reside and surely President Obiang will give him space, like he offered Mugabe the other day. He want the dictator gathering on the outside of the African Union and no one can blame him for trying hard to do so.

However, Nkurunziza is just doing like many others of his kind. Speaking of stepping down, but never really doing so. He will rewrite and make sure he has the office. As he is using the state and the Republic as his private enterprise. The state party is all built around him and his cult-figure. He is the hero and the one that Burundi needs.

Therefore, I don’t believe the hype. At this speed there is a need for a revolution or a coup to bring him down. It is not like the elections or the CENI is built for anyone else than him. The way things are, everyone in the authorities are his stooges and his paid cronies. There are no one else than him. It is either Pierre or nothing. Peace.

Burundi: OLUCOME – Portant Sur la Corruption qui se Developpe Exponentiellement dans la Quasi Totalite des Domaines de la vie Nationale Sans Que Les Dirigeants Burundais ne Disent Aucun Mot (31.05.2018)

Burundi: CNARED-Giriteka – Communique de Presse (27.05.2018)

Burundi : Reaction of Minister Reynders to the referendum (24.05.2018)

Belgium regrets the lack of transparency of the process of the revision of the Constitution.

BRUSSELS, Belgium, May 24, 2018 – Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Didier Reynders expresses strong concern following the referendum of 17th May on the revision of the Constitution of Burundi, the results of which were announced on Monday.

Both the majority and the opposition were eventually allowed to campaign during the official period. Belgium regrets however the lack of transparency of the process of the revision of the Constitution. This process took place in a climate of threats and intimidation symbolized by numerous arbitrary arrests of militants from the opposition, pressures on the population and grave violations of press freedom.
The revision of the Constitution may threaten the achievements of the Arusha process in terms of protection of ethnic and political minorities. It may also undermine the dialogue put in place by the mediation of the East African Community. With the risk that the current crisis could deepen.

Over the last few days, Didier Reynders raised the situation with many bilateral and multilateral partners, including the African Union and the United Nations. All are convinced that the only solution to the current crisis is an inclusive dialogue without prior conditions, and are therefore calling the authorities of Burundi to quickly show gestures of openness which would allow a reconciliation of all parts of society, and put Burundi on the track of democracy and of the rule of law.