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Jinja hospital contracts UPDF to fence off contested land with UMSC
The Engineering Brigade of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces has fenced off the contested land between the Uganda Muslims Supreme Council-Jinja and Jinja Regional Referral Hospital as seen on August 2, 2024. PHOTO/DENIS EDEMA
What you need to know:
- The contested four-acre land, located on Nile Avenue, stretches from Plot 31- 39 in Jinja City, and is adjacent to JRRH and Jinja Muslim Cemetery.
Authorities at Jinja Regional Referral Hospital (JRRH) have contracted the Engineering Brigade of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) to fence off land it is contesting with the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council (UMSC) Jinja Branch.
The contested four-acre land, located on Nile Avenue, stretches from Plot 31- 39 in Jinja City, and is adjacent to JRRH and Jinja Muslim Cemetery.
The UMSC had started utilising the land for meetings, prayers (Eid al-Fitr) and had erected a parameter wall until April when the Uganda Land Commission ordered it to vacate following a meeting involving both parties in Kampala.
JRRH Chairperson Board of Governors, Dr David Charles Mukisa, at the time, said: “We had a meeting in Kampala chaired by the Secretary Uganda Land Commission, and it was declared that the land belongs to Uganda Land Commission, with JRRH as user entity.”
The Jinja Hospital director, Dr Alfred Yayi, says the move to fence off the contested land follows that (Kampala) meeting.
“Following that meeting, in the fourth quarter, the government extended some money as supplementary budget and Shs300m was put aside for fencing off the hospital land and the board suggested that fencing should start at the disputed land,” Dr Yayi said on Monday.
He added: “As directed by the President, all projects in the health and education sectors should be handled by the UPDF Engineering Brigade, and we have started constructing the hospital fence, right from the disputed land to protect it from being encroached on again.”
Dr Yayi further explained that the entire hospital is going to be fenced off as it has porous entries.
“The money will not be enough, but priority was given to the disputed land,” he said, adding that Jinja Hospital plans to review its masterplan to restructure the entire facility with new buildings that include more specialized services in the health sector on the land.
This, he said will see amenities like blood bank, cardiac centre, and regional cancer treatment centre, among others.
Dr Yayi said for the UMSC to access its burial ground which will as well be fenced off, it (UMSC) will have to write to the user of the land (Jinja Hospital) “just as it was advised to during the meeting held in Kampala in April”.
Jinja District Kadhi, Sheikh Ismail Adi Basoga, said: “It is true that the records from the Uganda Lands Commission show that the land does not belong to the UMSC, but to Jinja Hospital as the main user.”
Sheikh Basoga, however, said that they have written to the Uganda Lands Commission, requesting for a path to the burial ground, but are yet to receive any feedback from its authorities.
However, Dr Yayi, who also doubles as the Jinja Hospital Board Secretary, said he is yet to receive any from the UMSC. “If they (UMSC) write to me or the Board, we shall see how to look into their matter,” he said.
