TORORO LAND GRABBING SAGA: Minister Oboth responds as UETCL keeps mum
BY ABWON OKETCHO
The Minister of Defence who is the MP for West Budama County South, Hon. Oboth Oboth has responded to the Red Pepper report of December 16, 2024 under the title “TORORO: UETCL, Indian firm Kalpataru accused of terrorizing, grabbing locals’ land as Minister Oboth looks on”. Full story here: https://redpepper.co.ug/tororo-uetcl-indian-firm-kalpataru-accused-of-terrorizing-grabbing-locals-land-as-minister-oboth-looks-on/139116/
He said:
“There is no truth about my role either passively or otherwise, Oketcho Abwon has been in this for a long time and should not try to drag me into this legal rather than political matter. I didn’t meet anyone at my home as alleged, these falsehoods and pettiness has hindered their own efforts to get compensation.”
In the said Red Pepper report, Oboth’s name is mentioned in the following statements only:
“Locals are, however, not happy with Defence Minister Oboth Oboth whom they say has turned a deaf ear yet he comes from the same region.
“The President may not be aware of all this, but Oboth Oboth who is the area MP and the Minister of Defence in charge of UPDF soldiers cannot plead ignorance of what is happening to his constituents who went to court seeking justice and who, on 13th August 2024 visited his home seeking audience with him,” says one of the affected land owners.
“He [Oboth] is a lawyer who knows what contempt of court is.
“UETCL and Minister Oboth have been contacted for comment.”
In all fairness, the denials in Oboth’s response cited above are diversionary and meant to create offence in Oketcho Abwon and make him the cause of non-payment of compensation to people whose land is being grabbed.
It is not stated anywhere in Red Pepper’s report that Hon. Oboth played any role to warrant his allegation that there is no truth about his role. He is imagining what is not reported.
The heading of the report simply states that locals are terrorized and their land is being grabbed while Oboth looks on. That is true and Hon. Oboth can’t challenge it.
Looking on is not a role. It refers here to not caring. If Hon. Oboth feels he is caring about the land grabbing and torture of his constituents, let him be kind and tell the world what he has done to stop those crimes against his constituents. Has he ever met them since 2005 when the land grabbing began to discuss it with them, and if so, where and when?
Let Hon. Oboth be specific and state what exactly he means by “Oketcho Abwon has been in this for a long time.” What exactly has Oketcho Abwon been in? Has he been in legal matter?
The affected locals in Tororo district know that Oketcho Abwon has been fighting for them the land grabbers. If he is killed as Chombe Francis of UETCL and the soldiers have promised to kill him, he will have died in the struggle to save locals’ land since UETCL long ago gave the locals notices to vacate their entire family land without compensation, but because of Oketcho Abwon, the locals are still in the land.
Hon. Oboth says that Oketcho Abwon should not try to “drag him into this legal rather than political matter”. Nothing in the Red Pepper report suggests that Oketcho Abwon is trying to drag Hon. Oboth into a legal matter.
Why is Oboth creating that terrible offence of dragging him into a legal matter yet, according to his sentence construction, he prefers to be dragged into a political matter?
Hon. Oboth probably needs to explain in Parliament if it is legally right to deploy soldiers against Plaintiffs in a matter which is before a judge being heard. Is it legally or politically right to deploy soldiers in defiance of a court order/injunction as is happening under Oboth’s political leadership of the army?
It is important that locals get to know if the law now provides that the duty of UPDF soldiers is no longer to defend them against external aggression, but to help a company which has not compensated them to grab their land even when they are in court against the company.
Nobody stated in the Red Pepper report that Oboth Oboth met anyone at his home as he alleges that it is alleged. Rather, it is reported that his constituents “visited his home seeking audience with him.” But “visiting” a home and “meeting” the owner of the home are two different things.
When the constituents visited his home, they did not find him at home and so they left a letter requesting him to grant them audience to discuss with him the deployment of soldiers against them. He has never responded to them since 13th August 2024 yet soldiers are still deployed.
Notwithstanding any failure of Hon. Oboth Oboth, however, he deserves sincere thanks for his candid admission that people of Tororo have not been paid compensation as he says, “these falsehoods and pettiness has hindered their own efforts to get compensation.”
So falsehoods and pettiness are to blame for non-payment of compensation to 618 families
in Tororo. The questions here are, whose falsehoods and what pettiness? Is it people whose land is being grabbed who are too false and too petty to be paid compensation?
Let Parliament of Uganda enquire into this matter in which Hon. Oboth, using his own phone No. +256 702 985512, has stated in writing that compensation for citizens of Uganda has been hindered by falsehoods and pettiness yet the same citizens are being beaten up by soldiers to surrender their land and crops after the Government of Uganda made funds available long ago for their compensation.
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