UPDF On The Spot: Batwa Community Accuse Force of Torture, Extortion

The Uganda People Defense Force (UPDF) soldiers deployed to guard Bwindi
Impenetrable National Park in Kashasha Parish, Bufundi Subcounty of
Rubanda District have been accused of extortion, torture and harassing
the Batwa community.

Batwa are a semi-nomadic pygmy tribe that lived in the jungles of
Ecuya, Bwindi and Mgahinga forests as hunters and gatherers for
centuries until 1992 when government, without providing alternative
land, evicted them from their ancestral dwelling to conserve wildlife.

Alex Maneriho, a Mutwa from Nyamatembe Village says that his nine
goats were last week confiscated by unidentified UPDF soldiers, after he was found grazing adjacent to the forest. Maneriho said that he was ‘forced’
to pay a fine of Shs 500,000 to get back his goats.

Jessica Kyomuntu, another Mutwa from Rutajenjeri Village says that the UPDF soldiers last month reportedly battered to death Mateeka Rujabarande, a Mutwa from Nyamatembe village after he was found collecting firewood in the Park. She wonders why they are not allowed to cross to the forest yet they were ordered to vacate without compensation.

Seperiano Matariza and Samuel Byenayisho all from Rutajenjeri Village also say that whenever they are found grazing or collecting firewood
adjacent to the forest, they are beaten and their animals taken. They
said that sometimes they are arrested and later released without
charges.

When contacted, Lieutenant Colonel Robert Nahamya, the Commander of 19th Battalion, said he has not received any complaint from
the Batwa community.

He however asked the victims to come out and report their complaints to the nearby police or any other security agency so that the implicated officers can be brought to book.