Description

Tension is very high in the Bukedi sub region following clashes between the Bagwere of Budaka district and the Banyole of Butaleja district over the boundary separating the two districts. This month, residents of Budaka district destroyed food crops belonging to residents of Butaleja district at Limoto swamp. Following this incident, the residents of Butaleja district retaliated by destroying the food crops of the Budaka residents. Police had to be called in to calm the situation. Three police detaches have been reinforced at the boundary to prevent further clashes although tension remains very high. This is one of the many border conflicts in the country that have increased due to the creation of new districts.
The two districts have had a history of boundary conflicts and the SAFE program has repeatedly reported on this conflict in various conflict assessment reports. Residents of the two districts have been clashing over ownership of the River Namataala and River Manafwa and nearby wetlands used by both groups for cultivating food crops. The clashes have left dozens of people with multiple injuries and also sparked fresh insecurity fears.
In March 2017, the Government of Uganda (GOU) officially demarcated the border in order to solve the conflict but attacks and counter attacks continue. SAFE’s Bukedi-based conflict monitors will continue to monitor the situation on the ground and report any tension and conflict incidents to SAFE’s conflict monitoring database.