Busamba land: Anger as police block bibanja holders meeting

Police on Tuesday blocked hundreds of bibanja holders from accessing the venue for the planning meeting about a disputed 1,044- acre- land, covering at least three villages in Namayumba Sub-county, Wakiso District.

Organised by the Bibanja Holders Association (BHA) and aggrieved family members of the late Gabudyeri Lubajja, the meeting aimed to enlighten more than 5,000 residents on the disputed land in Busamba, Kanziro-Gayaza, and Ngondwe-Kinyika, about the land dispute, where a female land dealer claims ownership of more than 200 acres.

Mr Abraham Luwalira, a senior Presidential Coordinator on Land Matters and the head of BHA, who had led a team to Busamba Village, was also not allowed to step a foot at the venue.

He expressed dismay at the police’s actions, especially after they were allegedly given prior notification of the meeting. Luwalira emphasised the necessity of educating residents about their legal rights in the face of potential land encroachments.

“We wanted to sensitise bibanja holders in the three villages to know their rights. There was no violence but police said the meeting was illegal and blocked our meeting. The reason they gave was that the Lands minister already intervened in the matter and left some directives,” Mr Luwalira said.

He added:“But my issue is clear-cut, the people in Busamba and other affected villages need our help and they are crying for justice. People here are being intimidated yet they are bona fide occupants and have been paying Busuulu (the nominal ground rent) to the late Gabudyeri Lubajja family as the law requires. Bibanja holders have rights and cannot be forced out without following the law.”

Police spent the better half of Tuesday engaging in running battles with the angry residents who accused security personnel of being compromised. The residents vowed to resist the land dealer and her agents and requested the President to intervene.

Ms Berna Nakato, who came to the dispute land as a surveyor, entered into a disputed deal with some grandchildren of the late Lubajja family and is now claiming ownership of about 200 acres. Without notifying the bibanja holders, the alleged administrators led by Richard Semitala and Eastarious Ssegantebuka gave Nakato 150 acres for surveying the land and processing titles for the family members. The disputed administrators have since been dragged to court over their dealings.

Since she started demarcating the land in December 2022, there has been insecurity and unrest in the three villages where locals backed by some of Lubajja’s grandchildren led by Josephine Mpamulungi and Teddy Namusoke were questioning the way she acquired the land without their knowledge.

Ms Mpamulungi and Namusoke had already slapped a caveat on the disputed land and sued the purported administrators for allegedly illegally processing the Letters of Administration (No 77 of 2010) and bringing Nakato to the land without their consent. Bibanja holders have also accused the duo of not giving them a chance to first purchase land from eachother before involving an outsider.

Tension in Busamba

Tensions on this land escalated last year, prompting Lands minister Judith Nabakooba to on May 21, 2023 hold a security meeting, where she halted activities on the said land and directed the State House Anti-Corruption Unit to investigate the matter and promised to “personally return and present a report to the locals.”

“Part of what I am going to do is reconcile the family because this issue is about family disputes so I will mediate and ensure that it is solved for the goodness of you bibanja owners,” she said.

The affected residents, who spoke to Daily Monitor on Tuesday said the minister has never returned to them but officials from Wakiso Land office brought what they called a purported “biased” State House report which cleared Ms Nakato of any wrongdoing yet the matter is still in court.

“Goons came with a grader and started clearing our food without our consent and on questioning them, they were offering Shs50,000 for us to buy posho,” Mr Joachim Kibabu, a resident of Ngondwe, whose garden was razed, said.

“She will first kill me before grabbing my land but if I am alive that will not happen,” another resident said.

Mr John Wanito, a resident of Ngondwe Village, said when the team that was allegedly deployed by Ms Nakato came on his kibanja, they didn’t liase with him on any matter.

“They cleared part of my kibanja without my consent and I will never agree with them because they are just thieves who came to terrorise our village,” he said.

Other aggrieved residents Daily Monitor spoke to accused Namanyumba and Kakiri police officers of connivance, a claim the police division commander denied.

The Kakiri Police Division Commander, Mr Hassan Mugerwa, when contacted on Tuesday said they were not supporting anyone and whatever they did was to avert violence.

“We suspected violence that is why we beefed up the security because one party wanted the meeting and the other never wanted it. So we cancelled it to create harmony,” he said.

He noted that the Lands minister and the State House Anti-Corruption Unit already intervened in the matter and ruled in the favour of Ms Nakato and this partly explains why she was fully protected when she held a similar meeting to give out disputed titles to some of the residents who reportedly willingly shared their land with her last year.

Ms Nakato is among the 28 people who were sued by Ms Mpamulungi and Ms Namusoke in the Civil Suit Number 24 of 2024, where they accused the formers’ of illegally sharing their grandfather’s property yet they are not immediate beneficiaries.

Response from the accused side

Speaking on behalf of Ms Nakato, Mr Ssemitala who not only admitted bringing the land dealer on the disputed land, confirmed being in the know of the latter’s dealings on the disputed land.

“They (rival camp) are just greedy but each of them received their share. Now the family is divided into two parties, the one that supports Nakato and the other against her. We will not allow the party fighting us to convene a meeting at their ancestral home in Busamba Village, they should instead look for somewhere else,” Mr Ssemitala said.

He said some residents willingly shared part of their land with Nakato to enable the latter, help them process titles for the remaining piece.

“Let’s say someone has seven acres, they agreed that let Nakato cut off two acres and they remain with five acres and receive a title in their names,” he said.

Ms Nakato did not pick our repeated calls to respond to these accusations but she previously in December last year, told this publication that she legally owns the 200 acres which is now a subject of a court case.