Tensions between Gulu University and residents in Nwoya District have escalated after angry community members seized 13 Boran cattle from the land at the center of a longstanding ownership dispute.
The cattle were reportedly transported to Nyamokino Parish early last week as part of Gulu University’s plans to expand its Faculty of Agriculture on a section of its 1,500-hectare ranch.
However, residents claim the institution has failed to compensate them for land they say was taken for the project. Gulu University Public Relations Officer James Onono Ojok said the university does not know where the cattle are being kept and initially described the incident as theft.Onono said the matter was reported to Nwoya Central Police Station under SD Reference Number 54/18/06.
“We have reports that suspected thieves went and raided our cattle, and a team led by the Vice Chancellor, among whom I am, has reported the case of cattle theft at Nwoya Central Police Station. We condemn whatever has happened and want to know who these thieves are because that is our cattle,” Onono said. However, the Nwoya District Police Commander, Ivan Nuwagaba, confirmed that while a case was registered, the cattle were not stolen.
He explained that the animals were taken to UPDF cattle holding ground in Nyamokino Sub-county after residents alleged they were grazing on land that does not belong to the university. “The case was registered, but the cows were not stolen. There is a group of people who claim that the cows were grazing on land that is not for the university. They took the animals to the UPDF holding kraal,” he told Uganda Radio Network.
Nwoya Resident District Commissioner Christopher Omara said the incident stems from an unresolved land dispute between the university and residents. According to Omara, district leaders had advised the university to resolve the matter before proceeding with its project, but the institution allegedly continued with development activities despite the concerns.
Locals Speak Out. Charles Nyeko, one of the affected landowners, acknowledged that aggrieved residents mobilized and drove the cattle to a holding ground managed by UPDF soldiers.
Nyeko said the university had promised to compensate squatters before commencing the project, but had yet to fulfill that commitment.“We were told that the government valuer would come and assess our land before compensation was paid.
That has not happened. We are now seeing the university constructing facilities on this land without compensating us,” Nyeko said.In September 2025, Gulu University management entered direct negotiations with 17 squatters occupying portions of the disputed land in an effort to resolve the standoff. University officials maintain that the land was legally titled in the institution’s name in 2015 to support its expansion in agriculture and environmental studies. URN