Fear, displacement, and unanswered questions from the ground
The Sebei National Youth Movement deeply condemns the violent and shameful act that occurred at Kabelyo grounds, the officially gazetted temporary resettlement camp for mudslide survivors in the Sebei sub-region.
After the recent mudslides that devastated communities in Kween, Kapchorwa, and Bukwo districts, survivors had already been resettled at Kabelyo. Humanitarian organizations, including Red Cross Uganda, were on the ground distributing relief items and helping families begin to recover.
But in the middle of the night, Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) rangers stormed the camp, firing gunshots and chasing away both the humanitarian teams and the displaced people. Several mudslide survivors were badly beaten, with some left unconscious. In the morning, the Woman Member of Parliament, Hon. Rose, rushed to the scene and helped take the injured victims to hospital.
This is not just unfortunate, it is cruel. It is heartbreaking that government agencies can turn their guns on vulnerable people who have already lost everything. How can survivors be attacked in their own land, at a site that was legally gazetted for their safety and recovery?
For long, we have cried out about the suffering of the Sebei people, and now it is clear: both UWA and the government have turned against us. The silence from those in power speaks volumes.
We demand immediate accountability for those who carried out this inhumane act. We demand that the government stop treating the people of Sebei as strangers in their own homeland.
Our pain is real, our anger is justified, and our voices will not be silenced. The Sebei community deserves dignity, protection, and justice and not gunfire and abandonment.
