The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Lamwo, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Hundreds of Pobura clan members in Lobalokodi village, in Madi-Opei sub-county in Lamwo District, have abandoned their homes following a land row with their neighbours from Pobira clan.
At least seven people from Pobura clan sustained serious injuries after unknown men suspected to be from Pobira clan attacked them on Tuesday morning. The attackers also torched two grass-thatched huts, leaving countless household items and harvested food crops destroyed.
Bitter skirmishes between the two clan members started late last month but escalated on Tuesday morning over a contested communal arable land in Oryang village measuring approximately 30,000 hectares.
Pobura Parish LCIII Councilor, Moses Oyat Adama says that close to 300 people from Pobura clan have fled their homes following the attack.
Oyat says the locals comprising mostly elderly person, children, and women have taken refuge in the neighbouring Lubiri village for safety.
Suzan Aciro a resident of Lobalokodi village and a mother of two children said she fled off from her home on Tuesday morning after the attack on her relatives.
Aciro says she is now residing in a neighbouring village with her children arguing that she won’t return until the situation normalizes.
Santa Apoka 40, who has also fled the village says her grass-thatched hut was torched by the attackers on Tuesday morning.
Apoka says she lost a bicycle, a bag of harvested sorghum, and several other household items after her hut was razed down.
The mother of six children says she is now living in fear since the attackers have threatened to wage another attack where they are taking shelter.
Lazarus Acire, an elder from Pobira clan acknowledges that some of their members were involved in the Tuesday attack but noted that it was in self-defence following countless provocations.
Acire alleges that members of Pobura clan on Monday mobilized their locals to flee their homes in anticipation of a fight but they got the information and defended themselves in advance.
He however says the clan elders have now calmed down their members from further engaging in any further fight since the land matter is still before the Chief Magistrates Court in Kitgum.
Lamwo Resident District Commissioner James Nabinson Kidega says an investigation into the attack is ongoing and notes that ring leaders of the attack from either side have been identified and being traced.
He says that Uganda People’s Defence Force-UPDF soldiers and anti-riot Police officers have been deployed at the scene of the attack to prevent further attacks and ensure that those who had fled off from their homes return peacefully.
Aswa River Region Police Spokesperson Jimmy Patrick Okema says four suspects believed to have masterminded the skirmishes have so far been arrested by police while two others are still in hiding in Kitgum district.
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