| KITGUM Superstition: Daily Monitor has learnt that a team of traditional healers are planning to perform rituals to appease spirits THOUSANDS of residents of Paluga Internally Displaced Persons Camp in Lamwo County in Kitgum have abandoned their huts following a fire that razed several huts last week.
Also 12 huts in Gai village in Paloga parish in and Aloi village were burnt on April 4.
They now brave the cold for fear of another fire to destroy the little share of the humantarian aid they get from different NGOs.
And being a rain season, the residents have more tales.
Just like it had been the case in several other camps in Acholi sub-region, the cause of the fires,
that leaves thousands of displaced people in squalid conditions is not yet known. ![]() | | BIZARRE: Children in Paluga IDP camp look at the debris of their huts after fire burnt the camp. Photo by Jimmy Kwo |
In January, fire broke out at Agweng camp in Lira district killing six people and left about 10,000 without shelter and very little food.
The fire, whose cause could not be easily established, destroyed half the camp in about half an hour.
Hence the question is who is behind the cause of the fires?
In some camps, children, who are left alone at home, start the fires.
Poor spacing
And because of the poor spacing, the fire easily spreads from one hut to
another because they are near each other.
The strong winds due to the long periods of drought makes the flames spread rapidly.
But the strange phenomenon that puzzles most displaced people is that sometimes, the residents remove the grass from the huts to control the spread of the fire.
The grass is laid where there is no fire, but even the piles of grass that are put down catch fire out of the blue.
This was witnessed by Daily Monitor and President Yoweri Museveni on February 6 when a mysterious fire gutted Padibe IDP camp.
The fire, which started at 10a.m razed 3,271 huts leaving about 40,000 people with no shelter.
As the residents tried to put off the rooftops, fire still caught the heaps of grass that was laid down.
While touring the camp, the First Deputy Prime Minister, who is also the Minister for Disaster Preparedness, Mr Moses Ali, was quoted in the media as saying that people opposed to the NRM government were the ones behind
the fire.
This accusation was also picked up by several government officials including the RDC for Kitgum, Lt. Santo Okot Lapolo.
Lapolo blamed the fires in the camps on the Forum for Democratic Change.
But FDC dismissed the accusation as mere politicking by the government to discredit the opposition.
Perhaps to counter this accusation, some IDPs in Paluga recently accused supporters of the ruling NRM for having caused the fire. Why?
Because the fire reportedly started near the home of a former NRM candidate for the LC3 chairman seat.
Consquently, the sub-county authorities and the army called a meeting in which they warned residents against trading accusation at each other.
They were urged to unite to fight fires in the camps. Powerful country
While explaining the cause of the fire, the commandant of Paluga IDP camp, Mr Fidensio Nokrach, said there was perhaps some 'powerful country'
out there that has something against the IDPs in Acholiland.
He said the 'powerful country' uses satellite to direct strong heat on the huts which burn the camps. Evil spirits
Due to the mysterious nature of the fire, some residents suspect that it could be the work of kifaru (evil spirits).
However, because kifaru is not a common thing in the region, the residents have started pointing fingers at 'foreigners' in the camps especially the Congolese.
On Thursday, Lapolo dismissed claims that the fires are mysterious.
"In August, some of our people in the Diaspora held a meeting to design a strategic means to see how these camps could be burnt in order to discredit the government, he said.
Even the day before the President went to Gulu in January, another meeting was held in Gulu. When he was going to Anaka (Gulu), the camp was burnt. When he was coming to Padibe (Kitgum), the camp was also burnt. So do you think it
is by accident?
He said: You are going to tell our people that it is ghosts burning the huts? That is very unscientific. Ghosts can't burn huts
Lapolo said burning of camps must be looked at from a scientific view.
Not that the thing is mysterious. There is nothing like a mystery. I am told in Anaka, they discovered lenses on top of a hut. He said the lenses attract rays which can make the grass to ignite. Charcoal burning
Lapolo said some charcoal burners cause the fires.
They leave sacks of burnt charcoal, some of which still have burning embers, next to huts that eventually spark off the fire, he said.
Meanwhile, Daily Monitor has learnt that a team of traditional healers are planning to perform rituals to appease spirits they say are the reason behind the fire in camps.
Whether that planned sacrifice will finally put an end to the mysterious camp fire and allow the IDPs to rest, we are yet to find
out. | 
