Nabakooba asked to intervene in church, clan land row

Lands Minister Judith Nabakooba has been asked to intervene in a land row between the Orungo Catholic Church and Imoratok clan in Teso Sub-region.

Six aggrieved clan leaders on May 28 authored the petition to the minister.

They include Mr Aleu Mark, Mr Egaru Richard, Mr Odongo Thomas, Mr Eculu Vincent, Mr Anoku Mark, and Mr Ekeu Joseph.

The clan elders accuse the Catholic Church in Soroti of surveying an additional 87 acres of their land to the benefit of St Peters Canisius Catholic Church, Orungo.

In their petition, the aggrieved clan elders want the minister to refer their matter to Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo for review.

They also want the minister to direct the RDC, DPC, and the church to stop what they describe as intimidation and harassment of the people of Imoratok who are utilising their land.

“The actions of the Church, the RDC, and the DPC are so high-handed and the members of the Imoratok clan no longer feel safe in, at, and around their homes,” the petitioners state.

Justification
Adding: “Several families are threatened by the church evictions and are currently being intimidated by the RDC and the District Police Commander (DPC) who are arresting some of them as they cultivate their land and yet there is an appeal at Court of Appeal.”

They also want the minister to write to the Commissioner of Survey and Mapping to appoint a surveyor to do a joint survey to ascertain the size of the land donated to the church and the part it has allegedly encroached on. In their petition, the clan elders claim at all material times, they have been the owners and occupants of different parcels of land situated in Morungatuny, Ococia Parish, Morungatng Sub-county in Amuria District.

They say the land is held and owned under the customary land tenure system.

They contended that sometime around 1944, their forefathers and fathers donated the land to Orungo Catholic Church.

However, around 2009/10, the church allegedly encroached on the land of Imoratok clan by surveying an additional 60 acres to the benefit of St Peters Canisius Catholic Church Orungo without their consent, prompting them to sue the religious institution. In 2022, Justice Henry Peter Adonyo ruled in favour of the church, reasoning that the six clan leaders brought the suit against the church to use the judicial system to grab land belonging to it on a false and bogus claim that it was customarily held and having been inherited.

The clan leaders have since appealed the High Court decision before the Court of Appeal.

They among others fault the trial judge for not having gone to the ground to see for himself where the original land donated to the church starts and ends.

They also claim that the judge would have seen the extra land that St Peter’s Canisius-Orungo annexed to the original one donated to it.

The appeal is pending a hearing.