Uganda, South Sudan in land row
Feb 24, 2007 (KAMPALA) — The government of southern Sudan has claimed that Uganda has encroached on its land bordering Moyo District in northern Uganda, according to report of state-owned New Vision on Saturday.
The paper said southern Sudan officials on Wednesday met their Ugandan counterparts at Logoba, about 10 kilometers inside Uganda from the disputed border post of Jale, to protest the construction of a road and a border post allegedly inside Sudan.
The two parties both vowed to forward the matter to the highest level after the meeting failed to yield any results.
The Sudanese officials led by Kajo-Keji county commissioner Oliver Mule included elders and Sudanese People’s Liberation Army commanders and police officers.
They demanded an apology from Uganda for encroaching on their land and wanted that the road project be halted immediately.
Kajo-keji executive secretary Kennedy Kenyi demanded that the road contract agreement be handed to the Sudanese authorities since the land allegedly belongs to them.
The Ugandan team was led by acting Resident District Commissioner of Moyo, Reuben Mutabazi.
“The road we are repairing, according to the GPS (Global Positioning System), is one-and-a-half miles way from the border and we are convinced that we are working in Uganda,” said Moyo District engineer John Achiga Chaiga.
“I cannot by any means give the contract agreement to another country’s authorities,” he added.
The road under construction funded by African Development Bank and the Ugandan government was aimed at creating easy transportation and movements of farm produce as a way of increasing household income through trade.
Commissioner Mule said they had deployed in the area to stop any extension of the road into their territory. Ugandan security sources confirmed that southern Sudan had deployed along the 13 kilometers road to stop the works.
“We also have our consultants in Kenya who came to Jale hills and told us that Uganda had encroached on our land by six miles at Logoba,” Kenyi claimed.
(Xinhua)