PARLIAMENT- As tensions continue to mount in the Rwenzori sub-region, a parliamentary committee that investigated similar clashes in the area in 2012 pointed to proliferation of districts, income disparities and unfair distribution of land as a recipe for disaster in the area.
A draft report of the Defence and Internal Affairs Committee, which this newspaper has seen, faults the struggle for the ownership of land, the influx of migrants from the highlands into the lowlands of Bundibugyo areas while also accusing local politicians of fanning these socio-economic tensions. More than 90 people were killed in the area last week.
According to the committee findings, migrants into the low-lands of Bundibugyo have enjoyed more economic and political prosperity, a perception that is “largely responsible for the increasing ethno-cultural fragmentation and resultant resentment against the Obusinga bwa Rwenzururu”.
The committee launched investigations into the sub-region following clashes that broke out between the Bakonzo and the Bamba as the former marked the 50th anniversary of the Rwenzururu freedom day in June 2012. The report is yet to be tabled in Parliament.
sarinaitwe@ug.nationmedia.com