Museveni reignites wealth creation gospel in Acholi sub region

President Yoweri Museveni has advised the people of Acholi to focus on chasing poverty out of their homes than consoling themselves and blaming everything on isolated cases like the Apaa conflict between Madi and Acholi communities.

“If there’s a problem in one area, let the other area which has no problem continue to develop. You can’t say because there’s a problem in Apaa, the whole of Acholi must stop. That is poor leadership,” Gen Museveni said.

The President made the remarks on Thursday February 23, 2023, while addressing leaders in Gulu as he kickstarted his tour on investment and wealth creation in Acholi sub region on the theme: “Securing your future through wealth creation and shared prosperity” and vowed not to be diverted as he re-echoes the difference between development and wealth creation.

“I have been in this war for the last 60 years, this time I don’t want to be diverted by many things like Apaa. There’s no Apaa here and in other parts of Acholi which you should develop,” H.E Museveni said.

This was after the Minister of Justice and constitutional Affairs Hon Nobert Mao informed the H.E Museveni that the people of Acholi are still waiting for a judicial commission of inquiry, the President promised to appoint “so that the people can speak up and also to talk about how that contentious area can be governed and the security and the arrests of our people who are up to now in detention in Adjumani district and harmonize that with the desire to protect the forest and the game reserve,” Hon Mao said.

Gen Museveni said the issue will be solved soon but it should not be solely blamed for hindering poverty alleviation in the entire Acholi.

“Some parts of Acholi were put in South Sudan by the colonial borders and some parts of Ankole were put in Tanzania and some in Rwanda, but we can’t go there to start demanding them, we are developing our area,” Gen Museveni told leaders.

Apaa land disputes turned contentious in 2017 when the Government demarcated boundaries between Amuru and Adjumani Districts where Apaa village was placed under Adjumani, to the dismay of the Acholi people from Amuru with whom they have inhabited the land for decades. Since then, the attacks have been recurring as the Madi community wants the Acholi people pushed out of the land.

The President informed the gathering that the renewed visit to all the 18 zones of Uganda is “to repeat my war (on wealth creation) I have been fighting since 1962”

President Museveni told the people of Acholi to differentiate between development (dongo lobo in Acholi) and wealth (lonyo in acholi), saying that whereas the government has improved the infrastructure like roads, hospitals, schools, electricity and other social services, it makes no sense to be proud when the people using them are poor.