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240 families face eviction by investor
Caution. Busoga East Regional Police Commander Anatoli Katungwesi addresses residents of Minoni-Mpumu Village at Minoni Primary School in Mayuge District at the weekend. PHOTO BY MOSES OKEYA
What you need to know:
- During a meeting at Minoni Primary School last week, the sub-county chairperson, Mr Sulaiman Kato, claimed that Mayuge Sugar Industries Limited could have illegally annexed the villages of Minoni, Wairama, Kasutaime, and Mpumu.
This, he said, leaves more than 240 families at risk of losing their land.
About 240 families in Minoni-Mpumu Village, Mpungwe Sub-county in Mayuge District face eviction from their land following a row with Mayuge Sugar Industries Limited.
The same land is claimed by the family of the late Alupakusadi Wahibi Wamulongo and the sugar factory.
Mr Francis Kataiguta, a member of late Wamulongo’s family, claims construction of the Mayuge-Majanji road marked the grabbing of their land.
“We applied to the Uganda National Roads Authority for compensation and we were told that there is another claimant to the same land yet we have never made any resolution as an estate regarding the land,” Mr Kataiguta says.
He adds that his family bought the land on November 16, 1997 from Mr Mwamadi Kakaire at Shs10m, a transaction that was witnessed by then chairperson, Mr Wilson Dhabangi, among others.
However, the sugar factory administrator, Mr Patel Kinjal, says they are the rightful owners of the land “who have all documents regarding its purchase and ownership”.
And while the sugar factory insists that they bought 150 acres of land, Mr Kataiguta says their land is 99 acres.
During a meeting at Minoni Primary School last week, the sub-county chairperson, Mr Sulaiman Kato, claimed that Mayuge Sugar Industries Limited could have illegally annexed the villages of Minoni, Wairama, Kasutaime, and Mpumu.
This, he said, leaves more than 240 families at risk of losing their land.
“On November 27, 2018, I wrote to the area land committee, directing it to halt signing any documents until this matter has been resolved,” he said. The Busoga East Regional Police Commander, Mr Anatoli Katungwesi, said an inquiry will be opened to prove the true ownership of the land.
“We shall pick each and every person who connived with this investor to grab this land because its forgery. Also, both parties should bring papers proving ownership, after which we shall take the file to court for judgment,” Mr Katungwesi said.
