President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has directed a one-month deadline for the audit and verification of all cattle compensation beneficiaries and pending claims in Northern Uganda.
The directive is part of government efforts to adopt a unified rehabilitation framework for all outstanding claimants.
“We give ourselves one month to study that,” President Museveni announced.
He made the remarks during a meeting with leaders from the Acholi sub-region in Gulu District, where the progress of the cattle compensation initiative dominated discussions.
The President suggested that government publish lists of those already paid in every sub-county for public scrutiny.
“But also publish the one with verified claimants. Let us all see the 4,000 who were paid in Acholi and how much they were paid and also the 12,000 who are not yet paid but approved so that we do mass verification, in that we know that these ones are not false claimants,” he noted.
“In the whole of the North; Teso, Acholi and Teso. That will help us to deal with the other issue of ensuring a flat empowerment for all families reaches everybody, which everybody seems to accept. We shall have a committee to see how we can move now.”
The new directive follows three years of compensation to families who lost cattle during the 1970s insurgencies and the Lord’s Resistance Army war, which devastated economic activity in Acholi, Lango, and Teso sub-regions.
The government launched the cattle compensation scheme in 2022, and so far more than 28,000 claimants have been paid, while 16,000 await payment in the next budget cycle.
However, during his interaction with leaders from the three regions, an additional list of 12,000 claimants emerged, raising concerns about endless claims and prompting the President’s latest intervention.
President Museveni criticized the original handling of the compensation process, saying it exposed beneficiaries to exploitation.
“But even with our method of sending in money directly to the beneficiaries, you have heard the corruption surrounding it. Some few people are receiving. We have already spent Shs150 billion which is supposed to have gone to 28,000 people. They now need another Shs500 billion. If we have that money should we do it this way or another way?” he asked.
He also dismissed the idea of calling it compensation, reframing it instead as a rehabilitation scheme given the universal impact of war.
“In other parts of the world, you cannot compensate for war or for natural disasters like earthquakes,” he said.
The President further cautioned Acholi communities against electing leaders who promote sectarian politics.
“Once you bring the politics of tribe and religion, the first casualty is the politics. You will not have a party which will have the majority in politics. There’s no religion in Uganda which is even 40 percent of the population or a tribe which is 20 percent of the population,” he warned.
He appealed to Ugandans to support government efforts to provide free education in public schools.
“The people blocking the future of our children are the ones refusing to implement UPE,” he said.
President Museveni urged leaders to adopt a culture of budgeting through prioritization.
“Please in the coming term, let’s concentrate on providing free education in government schools for the children. We should prioritize our budgeting,” he emphasized.
Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister, Hon. Norbert Mao, acknowledged that Acholi was destabilized by poor politics in the past.
“We are cultivators and cattle keepers but because of insecurity resulting from messy politics, we lost our livestock, so now instead of selling cows to solve our problems, we started selling food which we should be eating, then we faced food insecurity. That’s how we ended up having the World Food Programme coming to distribute food in the most fertile part of Uganda which was indeed a scandal,” he remarked.
The Minister further noted flaws in the way the compensation initiative was implemented.
“When you told the claimants to accept to solve the issue outside court, the lawyers and the thieves came in and caused more confusion,” he explained.
Minister of State for Northern Uganda, Dr. Kenneth Omona, praised the President for promoting wealth creation in Acholi and beyond.
“If there’s anybody who has never heard your message, then he is underage, or he is in prison but I’m sure even those in prison have heard your message Your Excellency. What we now have to do, Your Excellency, is to continue working together to ensure that there’s peace and stability in this region and mobilise everybody in this effort,” he said.
Kilak North MP, Hon. Anthony Akol, read a memorandum from Acholi leaders, thanking the President for restoring peace and stability.
He also commended government programs like the Parish Development Model (PDM) and Emyooga for improving livelihoods.
“Your Excellency, we also thank you for the Executive Orders on Charcoal business and the Balaalo. Since the start of the implementation, at least 19,386 heads of cattle have been driven away and the implementation is still continuing,” he added.
He, however, reported that some Balaalo still resist the Executive Order and requested the President’s continued monitoring.
On rehabilitation, leaders called for a broader plan that includes medical support for war victims, not just cattle losses.
“Above all, there are other compensations we request that the government puts into consideration apart from the livestock,” he said.
The Paramount Chief of Acholi, Rwot David Onen Acana II, told the President that Shs3.8 trillion has already been injected into Northern Uganda’s rehabilitation program with limited impact.
“The reason for this limited success is anchored on factors such as corruption but actors in the implementation value chain, weak governance and leadership to facilitate absorption of funds in key plan sectors to trigger sustainable growth and development, among others,” he stated.
He explained that community mobilisation campaigns have been ongoing across chiefdoms to boost economic production, discourage harmful cultural practices, and promote the Acholi language.
He thanked the President for infrastructure projects and poverty alleviation programs like PDM and Emyooga.
“We shall support these efforts by mobilising our people to access these funds and use them well to uplift their livelihoods,” he assured.
