Mr Wilbur Lwigale points at one of the structures that were illegally constructed on the family's land in Njeru municipality, Buikwe District. PHOTO | PHILIP WAFULA
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Buikwe hit by fresh land grabbing wave
What you need to know:
- The pattern of land grabbing in Buikwe prompted the minister of Lands, Ms Judith Nabakooba, to temporarily suspend all official land transactions in the area.
- She also recommended an investigation into the mess. Ms Nabakooba issued the directive during meetings held at Kidadili Village and Bugoba Primary School in Bugoba ‘C’ Village following various evictions of residents in the district.
A new, meticulous pattern of land grabbing targeting estates of retired and deceased high-ranking government officials is sweeping through Buikwe District, leaving residents traumatised.
Earlier, suspected land grabbers encroached on 60 acres of land in Njeru Municipality belonging to Mr Henry Kyemba, a former minister in the National Resistance Movement (NRM) government, before torching 40 acres of the family’s sugarcane.
The latest victim is Vasco da Gama Lwigale, a former commissioner in the then Ministry of Animal Resources, who died in 1995.
Ms Rebecca Abusa Lwigale, the deceased’s daughter, told Daily Monitor that land grabbers have encroached on the family’s land measuring about 60 acres and parcelled out at least 30 acres.
She identified the culprits as Mr Faisal Musiige, Mr Livingstone Lukabwe and Mr Stephen Kulaigye.
Victim speaks
According to Ms Lwigale, the family has been on the land since 1967, but most of it has been grabbed.
When Daily Monitor visited the contested land last week, most of the trees that were reportedly planted by the family had been felled, while structures said to have been erected by the family were also razed.
“Our family has been treated very, very badly; some of the encroachers came with armed men and cordoned off the acres. It is upsetting but you can see how people lose property in Uganda,” she added.
The encroachers quickly erect a wall fence around the land they have grabbed.
But lately, due to heavy rain, some of the walls are easily razed; so, a small structure is quickly erected on the contested land as a manifestation of the encroachers’ entrenchment. At the Lwigale family land, for instance, two identical structures have been erected.
But when contacted, Mr Musiige denied encroaching on any land or using armed men to seize it.
“The Lwigale family got leases from the municipality wrongly; and because that is private mailo, the municipality was wrong to give out leases over private mailo,” he said.
He added: “So what happened was that when the mailo owners went to court, the municipality lost and they communicated to these owners that the land is private mailo, so they should get off.” Mr Lukabwe also denied encroaching on any land, saying he legally bought the land claimed by the Lwigale family.
“I was taken to Kibuli where I was told that I am a bonafide occupant of the land and that maybe I seek a civil remedy; I then looked for the family’s administrators, spoke with them and compensated them to the tune of Shs120m,” he said.
“After compensating the Lwigale family, I sub-divided the land, sold it off and no longer have any interest in it,” he added.
What lawyer says
Ms Stella Bamwekoba, Ms Lwigale’s lawyer, however, said no such compensation has been made. “If you wish to compensate a family, there are administrators and you need the consent of other family members,” she said.
While Ms Bamwekoba noted that Mr Lukabwe sold off the land that he reportedly owned, she reckons it was done because acquiring it was fraudulent in the first place.
It has emerged that Mr Fredrick Kato Lukwaju sold the land to Mr Lukabwe, who later subdivided it and sold it to others, but on one of the titles, Ms Nanteza Nabeta is listed as the holder.
“Where does Mr Lukabwe get the titles? Nanteza being the alleged owner of the title would be doing the transfers; where did Mr Lukabwe’s title come from?” Ms Bamwekoba wondered.
Mr Kulaigye didn’t pick up or return any of the calls made to his known telephone number; but Mr Musiige described Mr Lukabwe and Mr Kulaigye as ‘land owners.’
“The difference with them is that they reside in the area and know its history very well,” he said of the duo.
The Ssezibwa region police spokesperson, Ms Hellen Butoto, declined to comment on the matter or respond to messages. However, during an earlier interview, Mr Deus Aheebwe, then acting Njeru District Police Commander, said it was improper to divulge information on a matter that is in court.
