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Over 40,000 face eviction
Conflict. Brig Augustine Kyazze, one of the affected residents, speaks during a meeting last Thursday in Kalangala Village, Kalungu District. PHOTO BY GERTRUDE MUTYABA
What you need to know:
- Ms Jamila Lunkuse, the in-charge of the land registry at Masaka Land Zonal Office, denied reports that his staff engage in land fraud.
Kalungu. At least 40,000 residents in 12 villages in Bukulula Sub-county, Kalungu District, have to look for alternative land for resettlement after receiving an eviction notice from their landlord.
The residents insist they acquired the five-square mile piece of land from their ancestors and that they have occupied it for ages.
The eviction will also affect Brig Augustine Kamyuka Kyazze, the UPDF deputy chief of logistics and engineering; Kalangala Deputy Resident District Commissioner Teopista Ssenkungu and Mr Willy Lubega, the Bukomansimbi District community liaison officer.
Apart from Ms Ssenkungu, who has a residential house on the contested land, the other two own farms there.
The affected residents are in the villages of Kalangala, Bulingo, Kasasa, Kisanje East, Mukoko, Mukoko North, Kamugombwa, Lutengo, Kisanje West and Lusanja.
Mr George William Ssenoga, the landlord, said he rightfully acquired the land and wants to open boundaries.
Last Thursday, the Resident District Commissioner, Mr Caleb Tukaikiriza, convened a meeting in Kalangala Village to discuss how to resolve the land dispute.
During the meeting, residents accused Mr Ssenoga, who was in attendance, of conniving with some officials at the Masaka Zonal Land Office to illegally process a fake land title, which he claims was given to him by Mr Chris Mubiru, a brother to the heir of late Wilfred Mugwanya who owns the land.
In the meeting, Mr Mubiru said he did not connive with anybody to change ownership of late Mugwanya’s family estate, adding that he was also surprised that residents were served with an eviction notice.
“We went to court to fight for our land and court granted us an order to halt all the transactions made on this land and now we received an eviction notice yet court has not yet not pronounced itself on the matter,” he said, warning Mr Ssenoga to stop threatening residents with eviction .
Mr Mubiru said he has seen a copy of the fake title, which indicates that he had sold the land to Mr Ssenoga.
“Residents have been avoiding me, thinking that I was the one who sold the land but I assure you that I was never involved in such a mess and please settle on your bibanja peacefully,” Mr Mubiru told residents.
Ms Ssenkungu expressed fear that if the dispute is not swiftly resolved, it may lead to insecurity and violence among residents.
Ms Jamila Lunkuse, the in-charge of the land registry at Masaka Land Zonal Office, denied reports that his staff engage in land fraud.
“We follow the set procedures while issuing titles. There are numerous titles in the names of late Mugwanya and I cannot know which one in particular is being questioned,” she said.
