The epicentre of the field work planned for M-PRAM is located in mid-western Uganda, within the vast Bunyoro Kingdom. The region has been characterized as marginalized and has for long been in the shadow of active political and economic struggles. After expanding at the expense of Bunyoro during the 19th century, Buganda helped Britain in the lengthy conquest of Bunyoro, and was rewarded through the annexation of a large part of the desolated kingdom (the lost counties) in 1894. Furthermore Buganda established its influence over its northern neighbour during the colonial period through its domination of the territorial administration. At the beginning of the 20th century, land in the lost counties was attributed to Baganda landlords, who most of the time have remained absent ever since. The very sparsely populated kingdom became, from the 1930s onwards, a frontier area for other communities. The settlement of large numbers of immigrants from the South of the country in the 1960s and 1970s, as well as the more recent settlement of refugee camps in the region, are causes of present time land wrangles. Conflicts and contestation also oppose Baganda landlords in the “lost counties” and Banyoro inhabitants, most of the area being relinquished to Bunyoro after a referendum in 1966. For many years now, Bunyoro has represented a region of in-migration. Yet, it is also a region of out-migration, with educated as well as landless inhabitants migrating to the capital city. It is in this specific historical context that severe conflicts over resources have appeared in recent years.
Cattle along Lake Albert (Photo CPAS, 2012)
Most of Bunyoro is included in the cattle belt of Uganda, and with the exception of the lost counties, the land tenure system has not been formalised in the area to date. This has made Bunyoro an convenient place to settle Internally Displaced People (IDPs) or international refugee communities for the government, and an easy place to buy access to land for rich individuals as well. Nowadays, this vast area is also home to most of the oil and gas wells in Uganda. The oil reserves are located in the underdeveloped western region of the country (in the soils of Hoima District and under the waters of Lake Albert), which shares an international border with the Democratic Republic of Congo. Oil exploration in Lake Albert is still on-going in many sectors of the Lake. As a consequence, the shores of Lake Albert are prone to investment and have attracted foreign and national capital as well as different categories of people, from oil workers to environmental organisation staff and fishermen. Immigration to Hoima, the major town of Bunyoro, has doubled the town population in the 18 months since the first oil well was drilled. Local health officials report that cholera is on the rise, and they suspect that rates of sexually transmitted infections (a proxy measure for rising rates of HIV/AIDS) are also increasing.
Royal Drum at Mparo (Photo EVignati, 2011)
An interesting cultural ceremony epitomises this growth. Each June, a public ceremony marks the reinstatement of the local Bunyoro kingdom where ritual objects, such as drums and horns, are presented to the public by the king. For the first time since the colonial conquest, Alur and Congolese fishermen from the lake shore near the oil fields participated in the celebration. They presented the king with a bull and requested that they now be considered members of the Bunyoro kingdom so that they, too, could be eligible for his cultural protection. Clearly, all aspects of life in Bunyoro are affected by the oil boom.
Oilwell (Photo Newinformers, 2011)
Bunyoro has thus become, in the very recent years, a place of in-migration as well as out-migration. It can be expected that employment opportunities within the coming years will lead to an increase in these phenomena, including international migration from the neighbouring DRC. In this context, there is an urgent need of assessing the situation to provide ground for planning and policies at the local level. In the broader context of Ugandan society alone, there is a crucial need for realistic assessments of what the development of an oil economy will mean for local environments, local populations, national economy and politics.
Fieldwork
A preliminary field visit was organised in March 2012, meant as an introduction to the region. Observation notes were collected in Hoima and Buliisa districts.
A first series of 46 interviews were done in July, August and September 2012, in Hoima and Buliisa districts, mainly with local leaders, elders, and within specific sectors of the local economy.
A second series of interviews were done in December 2012, in a fishing village along Lake Albert.
More interviews and observation notes were collected in the same place in November 2013 with a delegation of the Kenweb team.
A last field trip in October 2014 for a few lucky ones!
M-PRAM 