UGANDA – APAA: GOVERNMENT HELPLESS AS 600 ACHOLI PEOPLE TAKE UP ARMS AGAINST THE MADI COMMUNITY

GULU CITY-SATURDAY APRIL, 25, 2025

Okumu Livingstone Langol

Ugandans are wondering why the government has allowed the Apaa 40 sq. km. land conflict to breed for so long, since 2012 with contending parties being Madi and Acholi communities, yet the two had been living together for over 100 years.

Major General Felix Busizoori UPDF4 Division Commander, Saturday, April 12 declared a curfew in the contested land while appearing on Radio Rupiny 95.7 FM, reporting that over 600 Acholi people took up arms, bows and arrows to fight the Madi community. This followed claims that the Madi had earlier on attacked the Acholi community in Acholiber village located in Apaa, critically injuring one Ocira.

It is known that West Nile was a later annex to the British protectorate from the Belgian Congo in 1914 after Acholi was already part of the British protectorate. The British A.C. Weatherhead was, 1914, dispatched as the first colonial administrator of a new West Nile district with headquarters in Arua.

The Acholi community believe that Apaa is located in Amuru District of Acholi while there are several claims including it is East Madi Wildlife Reserve in Adjumani District with other claims it is in fact a National Forestry Authority gazette area. What is known is that it remains an area with a beehive of activities attracting timber dealers, charcoal dealers, land brokers who sell and resell parcels of the land and with a mix of communities from as far afield as Rwanda, DR Congo, Central, Western and Eastern Uganda. In short, it is a melting pot of resource extraction from which the Government seems to have lost sense of direction how to deal with the claims and counter claims that characterize it.

Meanwhile some sections of politicians from Acholi have been advocating for declaration of the area as a new district of Acholi curved out of Amuru District. On the other hand, the Madi community under the stewardship of the octogenarian Gen. Moses Ali seem not to be relenting in labelling it squarely under Adjumani of Madi.

Anthony Akol, the MP for Kilak North who is a new convert to the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party from the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) claims that one of his missions is to see an end to the Apaa conflict and to transform it into a new district curved out of Amuru District.

Meanwhile some reports indicate that Government has already given out Apaa land to a foreign investor, Martin Bruce to run a private wildlife conservation area, depriving the local community of the resourceful belt.

Other reports claim that Habitat for Humanity, is fronting for the Madi community to get land titles in the area. A one, Candano Alturu, a politician from Agago District has been named as inciting the 600 Acholi community to take up arms against the Madi community. By the time of filing this report, Alturu’s whereabout could not be traced, stoking fear of his possible abduction.