In 1967, the Acholi Chiefdom entered an agreement with the government of Uganda to set up a livestock breeding project in Aswa in Pader district. By 1980s, the livestock multiplication center had about 30,000 heads of cattle in the Ranch. However, the Ranch crumbled as insecurity hit the area and livestock were looted. It remained un utilized for over 20 years and the lease to the government of Uganda for 49 years expired in 2016. “It is our considered opinion that the land that reverts back to the Acholi to enable them to cater for the growing population, redevelopment of cultural sites, and resettling some people disadvantaged by war.” Said, Ambrose Olaa – Prime Minister for Acholi Chiefdom.

The Prime Minister of Acholi Chiefdom Ambrose Olaa told the Commission of Inquiry into Land Matters during its hearing in Gulu that herdsmen commonly known as Balalo had invaded Aswa Ranch in Pader district in Acholi Sub-region. “Who are the Balolo?” “We don’t know where they came from but we see them coming. And they come with certain authorities to the area. These are cattle keepers who come at night with trucks and offload their cows in these areas.” Olaa said the herdsmen are armed. “They are guarded by security. So there are a number of these, even if you move, the Commission went today, you will find these people there.” “Where do you think they come from?” “We are unsure because these people seem to be roaming all over the country.” “What language do they speak?” “What we know is that they speak a Bantu direct but they look familiar faces from Western parts of Uganda primarily around the Bahima, the Banyarwanda and all that kind of.”

The Chiefdom’s Prime Minister said an organization the Uganda Livestock Industries belonging to individuals was responsible for settling the herdsmen in Acholi. “But the directors are individuals in the state.” “So if I may ask, can you name the directors and number two, what is the source of your information?” The Aswa Ranch land contains cultural sites for the Chiefdom and Olaa said the settlers were destroying their heritage. “Gotibeyu in Aswa Ranch is the location where the Kings are coroneted. Since that we have a growing population, we have a number of people disadvantaged in whatever form and that we also need to protect these cultural sites because they constitute our identity. We shall not be called Acholi if some of the things that make us Acholi are destroyed.”

The Aswa Ranch was surveyed in the 1960s covering 1,000 acres of land in Pader district. But the Acholi leaders read fears that unscrupulous Ugandans were extending the boundaries of the Ranch to other districts. The Minister for Disaster Preparedness Hillary Onek was one of the settlers. “Grieved is Hon. Hillary Onek because his area is also curved out as part of Aswa Ranch. In deep inside Parabek Game, there is no way you can evict somebody who has lived perpetually on that land.” He also informed the Commission that the herdsmen have also grazed into the cassava gardens of the Chief of Acholi whose land neighbors the Ranch. “One time, two gardens of cassava were destroyed by these people’s cows and who were they? They were the Balalo.”