Land Coalition in the News: Film on Sanga Residents, Uganda

A moving documentary about the classical conflict between the mighty and rich pitted against the poor over their very source of existence - Land. Quotes are taken from the the Land Coalition's 2005 ECOSOC final report and issues paper.

THE documentary, The People of Sanga, is a classical conflict between; the mighty and rich pitted against the very poor over their very source of existence - land.
Produced by Anna Nabulaya and Anna Sabelstrom, The People of Sanga (Uganda/Sweden, 2004), is a moving story about a people who have been forced out of the place they ounce called home: the island of Sanga found on Lake Victoria now bought by a Briton. In the 24-minute documentary that showed at the 2nd Amakula Kampala International Film Festival held in September, the former residents of Sanga think the lake has been sold and will not have peace and enjoyment. They have lost the hope of development, prosperity and their children going to school.

The fishermen and their families were evicted from Sanga where some had lived for 22 years to another neighbouring island, Kiziru. They were lucky because the investor, Dr Frank Mwine, who is interested in both Kiziru and Sanga failed to acquire the former due to resistance by Kiziru residents.

Residents of Sanga were always challenged to prove how they came to settle on the island whenever this issue came up. On the fateful day, Mwine sent between 50 and 60 private security men, who surrounded the island without any notice, beating, burning houses and villages. One resident narrates that: "The attack that fell between 8 a.m and 11 a.m confused us leaving us with no time to flee with their cows and goats. It's the people from the neighbouring islands that helped us pack our little belongings before we came across.

"Some residents died in the process. To make matters worse, when we arrived at Kiziru, we had no beddings and our children got sick because it was still a forest and had to put up make shift shelters to survive."

Widows have been forced to work to support their families. One widow says: "My wish is to feed my children for them to go to school. When none falls sick I feel happy."
The displaced people have not received any form of support from the government. The residents lament that their plea to Inspector General of Government fell on deaf ears and that even their case in the courts of law cannot be followed further because lack of money.

"The man on Sanga is not a good neighbour, he uses a gun to chase us away and the situation is not peaceful at all. Our nets are confiscated, or we are arrested," one fisherman said. "A person from Sanga has a good heart. We are refugees in our own country," he adds.

For many poor men and women in Uganda, access to land and natural resources is important for meeting their food security and livelihood. Land, forests and water also have cultural and social meanings in most of the country. This documentary shows that conflicts over access to land are not new, but they are receiving renewed attention. Whether caused by greed or grievances, land conflicts are on the developments agenda.

Development experts have linked land to many complex social, economic, cultural and political issues, which is why land policy is so often a priority concern of citizens and their governments. Access to land and rights over natural resources is fundamentally linked to the four pillars of development, human rights, security and democracy.

"Political and territorial disputes and competition between communities and commercial interests are creating social dislocation, limiting economic opportunities, creating food insecurity, generating environmental damage and, frequently leading to the loss of life," the International Land Coalition warns.

"Poor households bear the heaviest burdens of land-related conflicts for the simple reason that their daily needs and future livelihoods are directly tied to their rights of access to the land," International Land Coalition adds.