Residents of Baralegi village in Otuke County have petitioned president Museveni, asking him to relocate the Presidential Guard Brigade Base from their village.
The Presidential Guard Brigade has been stationed in the area since 2004 when President Yoweri Museveni set up base in Baralegi, during the height of the Lord's Resistance Army insurgency to monitor the military offensive against the rebels.
About 500 petitioners led by the LC 2 chairperson, Jackson Ocaa, and Reverend Joel Oruta, said the continued stay of the PGB in Baralegi village is aggravating the displacement problem in the district.
The petitioners have asked President Museveni to relocate the PGB base so that they can access their land and relocate from the IDP camps. The area occupied by the PGB covers a primary school, church, trading centre and other plots owned by individuals.
In September last year, the matter regarding the contention over the land was debated in the District Council. The Lira district LC 5 chairman, said the district had identified a separate plot of land at Alir village in Olilim sub-county where the proposed Presidential State Lodge and military base could be set up.
Ojur said the land had originally been gazetted by the Government during the 1960s to set up a military base and an airfield and could therefore be reconverted into the new home for the PGB.
The residents are however concerned as to why no action has been taken since the matter was discussed by the district council. They have accused the lands minister, Daniel Omara Atubo of misinforming the president that the local leaders in Baralegi had allowed the Presidential Guard Brigade to continue staying in the area.
Atubo however insists that the military unit would remain in the area for as long as it takes to help restore peace in the region.
