Museveni directs police to evict family from land

A long-standing land wrangle between two prominent families in Kiruhura District has entered a new phase, with President Museveni ordering the police to settle the matter by evicting one group.

The conflict over ownership of 640 acres of land in Omukyeera, Kimomo in Kikatsi Sub-county, Nyabushozi County, has claimed several lives and resulted in property worth millions being destroyed.

What started as a simple boundary dispute between the former bishop of East Ankole Diocese, the late Shalita Kosia and Mr Christopher Kajundira in 1969, later escalated, leading to clashes. The children and grandchildren of both men have carried on the dispute after their deaths in 1992 and 2005, respectively.

After the village leadership failed to resolve the matter, it went to the district, before dragging in the police, army, State House and the courts.

Finally, President Museveni on November 8 wrote to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) John Martins Okoth Ochola, ordering the immediate eviction of the Kajundira family. He also directed that all police, army and lands ministry personnel who illegally inserted themselves into the conflict face disciplinary action and be prosecuted.

The President’s letter, copied to the minister for Lands, Attorney General, Director of Public Prosecutions, and Chief of Defence Forces, informed IGP Ochola that the dispute had dragged on for many years, with the courts always ruling in favour of the Kosia family.

He also pointed out that although the Kajundira family were evicted following numerous court rulings, some police and army officers had forcefully helped them reoccupy the land.

“I am, therefore, directing that you immediately evict the family of late Kajundira, their agents and anyone deriving any right or claim over the said land from them,” the President wrote.

On June 10, 2015, more than 30 Kajundira family members were evicted from the land on the orders of former IGP, Gen (rtd) Kale Kayihura.

The eviction came two days after the family had resettled on the land they had abandoned in 1999. The Kajundiras fled in 1999 after a group of armed persons attacked them and reportedly killed four of their family members, destroyed and stole property worth millions of shillings.

Their eviction that day, according to numerous media reports, prompted them to seek help to regain access.

It is against that background that Kajundira’s son, Maj Godfrey Muhoozi Kajundira, now says the President has been misled.

In early 2022, Maj Muhoozi reportedly  helped his family forcefully reoccupy the land, an action President Museveni said was illegal in his letter to IGP Ochola.

Maj Muhoozi later filed an appeal in the Court of Appeal under Miscellaneous Application No 354 of 2022, which sought to reverse a verdict of the High Court which had caused their eviction.

His suit came against the backdrop of earlier court rulings in 1990, 1996 and 2022, where the Kosia family had consistently emerged victorious.

The President said Maj Muhoozi and others connived with officials in the Lands ministry to irregularly process titles for the land, which should be cancelled immediately.

Yesterday, Ministry of Lands spokesperson Dennis Obbo said they are aware of the presidential directive and have started taking action.

“As a ministry, we are going to punish our technical officers who participated in procuring these titles fraudulently. We are following up and shall act steadily in line with the Public Service Standing Orders,” he said.

Relatedly, army spokesperson, Brig Felix Kulayigye, said the army is fully aware of the President’s directive, which they will implement.

“This is a civil matter but when police wants Maj Muhoozi, he will be surrendered. We [the army] do not condone misbehaviour, we are aware of the case and indeed the officer was advised to comply and since the matter has reached the highest office in the land, he has brought it upon himself,” he said.

Police spokesperson SCP Fred Enanga promised to get back to us on what actions the Force is taking against their officers implicated in the affair but had not done so by press time.

However, when contacted, Maj Muhoozi maintained that the President does not have the full facts of the matter.

“The land in question has pending court cases, both in the High Court and Court of Appeal. I have also written to the President, I want him to invite both sides; we all bring our documents and he hears from us but also respects the court,” he said.

On the other hand, Mr Benon Mutakirwa, a son of the late bishop, expressed relief and joy at the presidential directive.

“We are extremely very, very happy with the President’s directive. We have suffered a lot because of the injustices we have gone through as a family,” he said.

“Our properties were destroyed, cows speared and stolen, houses demolished and people killed even when some of those in authority like police were watching but could not help. We are now waiting for the police to implement the President’s directive then we can be at peace,” he said.

Background

Earlier attempts at peace

Many years ago, in 2009, President Museveni is reported to have tried to get to the bottom of this matter. This was after Kajundira’s death in 2005, but his reported meeting with the family in 2009 at Kisozi now appears to have been inconclusive, leading to the latest November 8 directive to the police chief.