By Bazio Doreen.

Security officials in Adjumani District, led by the Resident District Commissioner (RDC), have sensitized migrant cattle keepers, commonly known as ‘Balaalos,’ on the recent Presidential Order Number 03 that said they should be evicted from Northern Uganda.

The eviction announcement had earlier been made by the State Minister for Northern Uganda, Dr. Kenneth Omona, who gave them a 14-day ultimatum ending on June 5^th, 2025. This followed a May 19^th 2025, meeting of security leaders from Northern Uganda with His Excellency, President Yoweri Museveni.

In a District Security Meeting held at the RDC’s office on Monday, June 2^nd, 2025, where the leaders of the Balaalos in Adjumani were in attendance, the RDC, Taban Peter Data, explained that although a similar directive issued earlier on May 23^rd was temporarily halted due to the Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) quarantine, many of the Balaalos didn’t meet the guidelines earlier set for them.

“We recently did an inspection and moved in all the bushes with a team from the State House. Unfortunately, many of you didn’t meet the standards except for 5 people. You must now prepare to leave. Your animals have been destroying crops in the community, and their cries have now reached the president,” Taban explained.

The balaalos had been told to have a land agreement in place for where to put their animals; every one acre should only hold 2 and ½ cows, the area should be fenced with 4 layers of barbed wire, and it should have running water. The District Veterinary Officer (DVO) is also expected to inspect the animals before they are put in the secured kraal.

Taban also informed the balaalos that security officials in the district were ready to enforce the directive but that this would follow some guidelines.

“We are going to ask everyone to bring the documents for the land to be verified before we accept you to settle because some of you could have bought air. However, landlords, I urge you to respect the agreements if they bought it genuinely and don’t claim their animals. We know all the animals that entered and where they are located,” Taban warned.

Taban also assured the landlords that smaller meetings would be held with them to discuss case-by-case issues to ensure that the process is efficient and that both parties aren’t affected by the prompt eviction.

Similarly, the commanding officer of the 5th Infantry Battalion at Bibia Military Barracks, Maj. Mutungi Maxwell, tasked the sub-county leaders to have hoarding grounds for the animals to make verification easy. He also said that the remaining animals will be auctioned if not claimed.

“We ask all sub-counties to have a hoarding ground. We have profiled all the cows and know their owners. All districts will be doing the same across Northern Uganda. We have also agreed that all of you use the Karuma Bridge to take your animals,” Mutungi said.

On his part, the District Police Commander, SSP Dickson Ayesigomwe, cautioned the balaalos to be mindful of their safety and that of their cattle because some criminals could leverage the opportunity being created by the transition to commit crime.

“Among you there are dealers. A lot of crime is going to happen. We don’t want to hear that your cows have been stolen. Desist from any sort of crime from you or others. Some landlords may also want to reclaim their land after selling it to you. You should be very careful,” Ayesigomwe warned.

Meanwhile, the chairperson of the Balaalos in Adjumani, Batereza Peter, appreciated the government for laying out such procedures to protect them from fraud by the landlords. He also thanked the government for allowing them to retain their land.

“Let us cooperate with the security officials. Let us be grateful that the government has allowed us to use our land. We can use it for agriculture. Let us be confident that the land will remain ours,” Batereza appreciated.

The Speaker of the Balaalos, Kalanzi Charles Otafiire, also requested the government to give them more time to organize themselves, as some of them had sold everything from where they were before resettling in Northern Uganda.

Adjumani has 1,300 balaalos who have animals in 21 kraals. These are located in sub-counties of Pachara, Pakele, Dzaipi, Itirikwa, and Ukusijoni. On the other hand, West Nile, Acholi, and Lango have approximately 757 herdsmen and an estimated 92,000 herds of cattle, according to the army.

Security Officials pose for a group photo with the leaders of the balaalos