President Museveni set to mediate Tororo boundary dispute

TORORO - President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni is expected to meet delegations from Tororo district today, Wednesday, to address the ongoing dispute between Tororo County and West Budama leaders over which party should retain the name "Tororo District."

During a heated meeting chaired by Vice President Jessica Alupo on Tuesday, April 22, both sides unanimously agreed to have Tororo Municipality elevated to city status without incorporating any other sub-counties, as had been demanded by the West Budama delegation.

The meeting, convened by Vice President Alupo in her boardroom, included representatives from the Iteso Cultural Union led by Emorimori Paul Sande Emolot, the Tieng Adhola team led by Kwar Adhola Moses Stephen Owori, religious leaders, Members of Parliament, the LC5 chairperson, all district councillors, and all LCIII chairpersons.

The proposals put forward during the meeting included granting district status to Tororo County North and Tororo County South, with Mukuju as the headquarters under the name Tororo district.

Additionally, it was proposed that Kwapa Town Council be elevated to municipality status, and Tororo Municipality be elevated to a city without altering its boundaries.

Other proposals included elevating Nagongera to a municipality, granting the greater West Budama South the status of a district named Mulanda, and granting the greater West Budama North district status under the name Tororo District Kisoko.

The dispute over who retains the name "Tororo District" is at the heart of the controversy, prompting the need for presidential intervention.

Previously, the government had spent considerable time and resources establishing commissions of inquiry into the ownership of Tororo Municipality, but the findings from those inquiries have yet to be implemented.

In 2005, the government attempted to create Mukuju and Kisoko districts. However, the proposals were outrightly rejected—Tororo County argued they could not separate from the municipality, while West Budama County opposed losing the name "Tororo" and threatened legal action against the government.

Following several meetings with the President regarding the rightful location of Tororo County, claimed by both parties, a delegation was, in 2017, sent to the Commonwealth Archives in the United Kingdom to retrieve colonial boundary records.

However, the report has yet to be made public.

During the NRM parliamentary caucus meeting held at the National Leadership Institute in Kyankwanzi, the President, responding to a request from Tororo South County MP Fredrick Angura, stated that the municipality was originally part of Tororo County.

He later said he had delayed releasing the report to avoid one party celebrating at the expense of the other.

Subsequently, the President appointed the Vice President to mediate and arrive at a win-win resolution. However, Tuesday’s meeting appears to have yielded limited progress, leading the Vice President to refer the matter back to the President.