Buliisa farmers protest against elephant crop raids

Buliisa, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Peasant farmers neighboring Murchison Falls National Park in Buliisa on Friday stormed the sub-county headquarters protesting against elephant and Buffalo crop raids.

Men, women, and children holding placards stormed the Buliisa sub-county headquarters demanding that the government should urgently intervene to save the situation.

The placards read; “Relief is needed in Buliisa, No Education for our children due to elephants, No food in Buliisa, Long process for compensation by the government, Five people so far killed by elephants, No government in Buliisa, Government where are you we are dying due to elephants, Elephants will vote Museveni” among others.

The protestors were from more than 20 villages located in the sub-counties of Butiaba, Buliisa Ngwedu,Biiso, and Buliisa town council.

They said elephants and buffaloes have devoured hectares of cassava, maize, beans, sweet potatoes, jack fruits, pawpaws, and bananas.

They demand that the Uganda Wildlife Authority compensate them for crops destroyed, lives lost, and injuries inflicted on some of the community members by the wild animals.

Baleke Kasonu, a resident of Kichoke in Buliisa sub-county that neighbors Murchison Falls National Park says, they are being raided by wild animals like elephants and Buffaloes which destroy their crops and cause injuries to the community members.

Margret Kabiise, a resident of Bugana village in Bugana Parish in Buliisa sub-county says, they are on the verge of starvation since all the crops they had planted have been destroyed buy elephants.

Charlis Katusiime, a resident of Buliisa town council demands that UWA expedites the process of erecting an electric fence around Murchison Falls National Park to prevent further invasion of the animals into the community.

Geoffrey Ofoimungu, a resident of Ngwedu sub county states that despite several pleas made by the residents to UWA to drive the animals away from the community, UWA has adamantly kept a deaf ear.

Robinah Kyakuhaire, a resident of Buliisa town council, says that they spend sleepless nights as the animals raid their homes daily. She states that their children have been forced to drop out of school fearing to be attacked and killed by the stray elephants.

Kamanda Kabagambe, the Buliisa Sub County LC3 Chairperson says, for the last four years, residents in his area have gone through untold suffering following the rampant invasion of elephants from Murchison Falls National Park that stray into the community.

He says since this year began, five people have been killed by stray elephants in the sub-county yet no intervention has been taken by the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) to compensate the families.

Bashir Hangi, the Uganda Wildlife Authority-UWA spokesperson admits that they have severally received complaints from residents settling adjacent to Murchison Falls National Park in Buliisa about the rampant invasion of wild animals stating that, they are doing all they can to regulate the movements of the animals.

He says, UWA has embarked on massive recruitment of scouts, field enforcement officers and wardens to be deployed within communities settling adjacent to the National Park to immediately respond to emergencies caused by the stray animals.

According to Hangi, though UWA is in the process of fencing the park, currently they do not have enough resources to quickly initiate the project.

In April this year, Fredrick Kiiza, the Chief Warden of the Murchison Falls conservation area told Uganda Radio Network-URN in an interview that all arrangements had been made to ensure that within three months, an electric fence is erected around the Murchison falls National Park.

In 2022, more than 1,000 Residents of Buliisa settling near Murchison Falls National Park petitioned UWA over the rampant invasion of elephants and Buffaloes into the community causing massive destruction to their crops.

In their petition addressed to UWA, the residents then stated that they are being raided by wild animals like elephants and Buffaloes which destroy their crops and cause injuries to the community members.

The residents in the petition demanded that UWA should compensate them for crops destroyed and injuries inflicted on some of the community members by the wild animals.

The petitioners were then from more than 20 villages neighboring Murchison Falls National Park from the sub-counties including Butiaba, Buliisa Ngwedu, Biiso, and Buliisa town council, which all share a common border with the parks.

In their petition then, the residents too demanded that UWA erect an electric fence around Murchison Falls National Park to prevent further invasion of the animals into the community.

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