LUGBARA KARI DEMANDS RETURN OF GILIGILI PRESIDENTIAL FARM LAND

Lugbara Kari Cabinet members address a press conference over the land matter.

By Dramadri Federick

Lugbara Kari, the cultural institution of the Lugbara people, is demanding the return of land that was donated to President Yoweri Museveni for the establishment of the Giligili Presidential Demonstration Farm, arguing that it should instead be used to construct the institution’s permanent headquarters.

The Giligili Presidential Demonstration Farm, located in Arua City, was commissioned by President Museveni in September 2018 as a regional agricultural hub to promote modern farming practices, agricultural research and household wealth creation across the West Nile sub-region.

According to the Acting Prime Minister of Lugbara Kari, Willy Ngaka, the 30-acre piece of land was donated to support agricultural demonstration, research and innovation aimed at modernising farming and improving livelihoods.

However, he says the project has not delivered measurable benefits to the Lugbara community.

Ngaka argues that the land would better serve the community if it were returned to the cultural institution to facilitate the construction of the Agofe’s palace and Lugbara Kari’s permanent headquarters.

Addressing journalists at Lugbara Kari’s offices at the Social Centre in Arua City, Ngaka said the institution had already engaged various stakeholders on the matter.

He called on the government, through the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, to fulfil its commitment to support cultural institutions by establishing permanent headquarters for the Paramount Chief.

“Our official position is that we have land in Giligili where our palace is supposed to be, but it is currently being used as a Presidential Demonstration Farm. We want our land returned so we can build our headquarters there. We also ask the government to fulfil its commitment by constructing the palace for us,” Ngaka said during the press conference.

Christopher Yiki, the Speaker of Lugbara Kari, said the cultural institution would not support any further allocation or giveaway of Lugbara land now that it has adopted a land policy to safeguard its ancestral land.

“Land cannot be sold like groundnuts or simsim. Land is an asset, not only for us, the Lugbara people living today, but also for future generations,” Yiki said.

Efforts to obtain a response from the West Nile Regional Manager of the Giligili Presidential Demonstration Farm, Godwin Akaba, were unsuccessful. Akaba said he was not authorized to comment on the matter.

The Giligili Presidential Demonstration Farm currently implements President Museveni’s Four-Acre Model, which demonstrates how farmers can maximize productivity on small land holdings through integrated, high-yield agricultural enterprises.