Ambassador on the spot over plan to evict residents

At least 20 residents at Samaliya Village in Nyendo-Mukungwe Municipality in Masaka City have resisted a pending eviction orchestrated by  Mr Danny Ssozi Mayanja, the deputy head of mission to Ugandan Embassy in Germany.

 On July 24, military police personnel were deployed to provide security to a team of surveyors who were opening boundaries on the disputed piece of land on Block 326, Plot 291, measuring 15 acres.

After the exercise, the surveyors revealed to the residents that their houses and plantations were within the land owned by Mr Mayanja and advised them to vacate.

 Mr Ashraf Ssemanda, 24, one of the affected residents said his uncle gave him a portion of land where he   built a residential house, but was surprised to receive information that his plot is part of the land being claimed by Mr Mayanja.

“I have been told that the entire house sits on Ambassador Mayanja’s land. I have had sleepless nights since Sunday. The soldiers deployed in the area say we are illegal settlers and should leave,” Mr Ssemanda said in an interview on Tuesday.

 Ms Hanifa Namukwaya, another resident, said her late father Ahmed Ddumba, left behind eight acres of land, which they have been using for cultivation.

She said as a family, they decided to leave the land in the care of her brother Suleiman Kabanda who reportedly sold a portion to Ambassador Mr Mayanja.

“Kabanda was given his portion on another side of the family estate where there is no contention, but last week when I brought a tractor to clear my piece of land, I was surprised to see him moving with the ambassador and other people.  They approached me and ordered that I stop whatever I was doing,” Ms Namukwaya said.

Ms Namukwaya said she wanted to harvest her maize, but she was ordered by the soldiers on the disputed land not “to dare touch anything”.

“We are not even allowed to visit our gardens, I invested a lot of money in planting the maize, but it seems they want me to lose everything,” she added.

Mr Ronald Jjingo, a teacher at Blessed Sacrament Secondary School in Masaka City, said part of his house is going to be demolished because it is within the land being claimed by Ambassador Mayanja.

Early this year, Ambassador Mayanja dragged residents to Masaka High Court over illegally occupying his land and on July 12, the deputy the registrar,  MrJulius Borore, issued a temporary injunction restraining the respondents from selling, mortgaging, transferring and constructing new structures on the suit property/land until the main suit is disposed of.

 Mr Michael Mpiima, the Samaliya Parish chairperson said it was unnecessary to deploy armed soldiers to guard the disputed piece of land.

“It was not good to bring military personnel to our village, at least they could have brought police officers not soldiers who everyone fears, our people abandoned their houses and are staying with their relatives,” Mr Mpiima said.

 Mr Farouk Buyondo, a caretaker of the land, said all the affected residents know very well that they illegally occupied the land.

“For us we are enforcing a court order, nothing else,” he said

Southern Police Spokesperson, Mr Muhammad Nsubuga said they are aware of the soldiers deployed at Samaliya, which he justified as “maintaining peace” in the area.

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