AFRICA/UGANDA - Land grabbing and forced deportation of farmers increased during the lockdown for Covid-19

Kampala (Agenzia Fides) - "The situation is worsening as the populations of entire districts are forcibly evicted from their lands. Forced evictions are a clear indication that people's rights are being violated", says a report by the Denis Hurley Peace Institute (DHPI), a research organization sponsored by the Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference (SACBC), on land grabbing actions at the expense of local populations in the territory of the Archdiocese of Gulu, in northern Uganda. This phenomenon has been going on for several years. For example, a 2012 report by the NGO Oxfam denounced the deportation of tens of thousands of people from their lands, while cases of herbicide use were recorded to force farmers to abandon their lands. The Covid-19 pandemic has aggravated the picture over the past year. "The abuse intensified during the Covid-19 pandemic. The pandemic has given many the advantage of having easy access to millions of hectares of land with the support of the country's government and influential politicians", says the DHPI. This is because “the pandemic was used as a smokescreen to force farmers to abandon their land. "Soldiers were deployed during the lockdown imposed to stop the pandemic to force people to leave their homes by burning houses and arresting those who opposed them". The Denis Hurley Peace Institute cites examples such as that of a former commander of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) who expelled an entire Catholic parish in the village of Apaa. The area has now been turned into a hunting ground. "Land grabbing leads to environmental degradation", emphasizes the DHPI. "A large number of shea trees have been felled. One of the areas where the trees have been decimated is the Adilang sub-county, where now about 500 people from different parts of the country camp". "The lack of international awareness about forced deportation and environmental destruction during the Covid-19 lockdown exacerbated the problem. The wealthy elites violate the rights of the poor by taking their land. The government does nothing about it. Rather, it promotes these activities. The situation of land and environmental degradation in Uganda remains hidden", concludes the Denis Hurley Peace Institute. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides, 20/5/2021)

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