Collusion Threatens Balaalo Eviction Exercise in Obongi, RDC Hashaka Warns

A section of politicians and landlords in Obongi District are reportedly colluding with Balaalo herders to frustrate the implementation of Presidential Executive Order No. 2 of 2025, which directs the eviction of migrant cattle herders from Northern Uganda.

The Obongi Resident District Commissioner (RDC), Samuel Mpimbaza Hashaka, has sounded a warning against what he described as “deliberate sabotage” of the eviction exercise.

“Some unscrupulous elected leaders and landlords are conniving with the Balaalo herders to hide cattle and evade the eviction. This is illegal and unacceptable,” RDC Hashaka said.

Hashaka revealed that at least two landlords in Obongi have already signed fresh illegal land agreements with the Balaalo herders, allowing them to occupy ancestral land in violation of the presidential directive.

“We have evidence that two landlords have entered into illegal land agreements with Balaalo herders. This goes against the spirit and letter of Executive Order No. 2, and we strongly condemn it,” he emphasised.

The RDC warned that any individuals found aiding the Balaalo to flout the Presidential directive will face legal consequences.

President Kaguta Museveni signed Executive Order No. 2 of 2025 on June 1, 2025, targeting what he termed the “unplanned and indisciplined” movement of Balaalo cattle herders into Northern, Eastern, and North-Western Uganda.

The directive was issued due to concerns over food insecurity, crop destruction, blocked water sources, land conflicts, and the risk of livestock disease outbreaks such as foot-and-mouth disease.

The eviction is being executed under a 65-day enforcement phase dubbed "Operation Harmony", launched on June 25, 2025, involving personnel from the Uganda Police Force and the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF).

By June 28, more than 3,119 cattle had already been removed from the Acholi and West Nile sub-regions, including over 300 from Adjumani and nearly 1,000 from Obongi District.

However, enforcement teams are now grappling with tactics by some leaders and landlords to hide Balaalo cattle, delaying the smooth implementation of the Executive Order.

President Museveni has described the Balaalo encroachments as "criminal and very unfair", stressing the need to protect indigenous communities, farmlands, and water sources from unregulated grazing and disease outbreaks.

Executive Order No. 2 builds upon the earlier Executive Order No. 3 of 2023, reinforcing Uganda's effort to regulate internal pastoral movements and restore order in agricultural and grazing practices across affected regions.