A land dispute in Palabek, Lamwo District, between the local Acholi community and Balaalo pastoralists has ended with a High Court ruling on July 28, 2025, dismissing the pastoralists’ claims and upholding their eviction.
In 2021, Balalo pastoralists, led by Simon Timbigamba and others, arrived in Palabek with their cattle, claiming legal rights to land through rental and purchase agreements.
Timbigamba had a tenancy for 300 acres, while others, like Bashaijja Petero and Kamanzi John Bosco, held similar agreements.
However, local leaders, including Denis Akaka, the Palabek Chiefdom prime minister, and Omal Christopher, a local council chairperson, opposed their presence, arguing that the pastoralists’ cattle destroyed crops and water sources, threatening the community’s livelihood.
On October 21, 2021, Palabek leaders issued a public notice calling the Balaalo “menaces” and demanding their eviction, citing allegations of social disruption and environmental damage.
The pastoralists claimed that the public notice illegally ordered their eviction and branded them as “rapists, spies, and gun owners,” inciting community violence and causing mental anguish.
They challenged the eviction in court, arguing that it violated their constitutional rights to property and to live anywhere in Uganda.
In the ruling, court found that the pastoralists’ agreements were mostly tenancies, not ownership, and failed to establish property rights. The court also ruled that their cattle caused significant harm, violating the locals’ rights to livelihood and property.
“The destruction of crops and water source threatened the right to life of the people of Lamwo under articles 22(1) of the Constitution, 1995,” court ruled
The pastoralists were ordered to leave Palabek, with both sides bearing their own legal costs.
