Elgon Landslide Victims Seek Review of Shs18m Resettlement Package

What the report says

Budadiri East MP Julius Nakiyi is pushing for Parliament to review the government’s Shs18 million resettlement payment for households being moved from landslide-prone parts of the Mount Elgon region, according to Nile Post. He argues that a single payment for all affected families may not reflect differences in land size, homes, gardens and long-term agricultural investments that people would have to give up.

The article says the government has announced a one-off Shs18 million package for each eligible household to support relocation to safer areas. The Office of the Prime Minister has identified more than 13,000 households in landslide-prone areas of Bugisu for the programme, which is intended to reduce deaths and destruction from recurring landslides. Government has also said land left behind by beneficiaries will be taken over by the Uganda Wildlife Authority as part of Mount Elgon National Park, with houses on that land expected to be demolished.

Nakiyi’s argument is that relocation support should be separated from compensation where the state is compulsorily acquiring privately owned property. He says Article 26 of Uganda’s Constitution requires fair and adequate compensation when property is taken, and he wants any parliamentary motion to address valuation, compensation and rules for vacated land. The proposal has not yet been formally tabled, but if introduced it could shape how Uganda balances disaster relocation, conservation and property rights in Mount Elgon and potentially other high-risk areas.