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Authorities open boundaries on land donated by Museveni
Mr Caleb Tukeikiriza, the then Sembabule Resident District Commissioner (RDC), speaks to some of the residents with gardens on land donated by President Museveni in Lutunku, Kawanda Sub-county, Sembabule District on September 10, 2022. PHOTO/FILE
What you need to know:
- The leaders say this is meant to protect the land from land grabbers.
Leaders in Sembabule District have started opening boundaries on the 200-acre piece of land donated by President Museveni to Lutunku community in Kawanda Sub-county.
The move, according to district leaders, is aimed at protecting the land from unscrupulous individuals who had intentions of grabbing it.
The development follows district probe committee findings (of July 2023) that indicated that some of the people had grabbed part of the land where they had earlier settled as tenants, and some had started constructing permanent buildings on it.
Mr Faisal Sseruwagi, the Sembabule deputy resident district commissioner, said many individuals who were using part of the land to grow crops have since been evicted.
“There were some farmers that were using the land after the management of the polytechnic hired part of it to them, but we advised the administration not to allow them to use the land anymore, and by the time we embarked on boundary opening, a few of them still had gardens on the land and they were asked to harvest their crops this season and leave,” he said during an interview last week.
He said the district had secured Shs9 billion to erect new Business Technical Vocational Education and Training (BTVET) facilities, laboratories, and dormitories on part of the land.
“We want this project to start when the land is free of encroachers and we are working towards that,” he added
Ms Annet Kyalimpa, a councillor representing Kawanda Sub-county, welcomed the boundary opening initiative, saying: “The previous administration of the institute made a mistake by leasing the land to some people who had started using it, but the boundary opening exercise will help to save that land which was on the verge of being stolen.”
Background
Records at the district show that President Museveni bought the land in 1997 from Mr Faustine Ntambara and donated it to the community of Lutunku in Kawanda Sub-county, Sembabule District.
Part of the land is on Block 176, Plot 4, 6, and 46 in Lutunku Parish while another is on Block 83, Plot 23 in Sembabule Town Council.
Lutunku Community Polytechnic, a technical Institute, was later constructed on the land as well as Kaguta Primary School.
