Nabakooba orders for fresh land survey amid disputes

Encompassing more than 2,000 households, it was formerly owned by the cooperative company Mawino, under the late Crescent Mwirumubi Baguma.

Following his demise, the property passed to a woman who then transferred the land title into her name.

During a subsequent survey, portions of land originally owned by residents were incorporated into her ownership.

Local leaders expressed concerns that since 2022, residents have lived under the threat of eviction despite an agreement reached that year.

According to this agreement, the land owner engaged by local leadership on April 27, 2022, would retain 477 acres per the 2009 boundary delineation, while residents would maintain uninterrupted possession of their remaining land.

“After organising yourselves and setting the day when this exercise will kick off, I expect a report in one week to establish exact facts on this land. Give us some time to do boundary opening to know the size each person owns, and after we shall help you to apply and get yourself land titles. The report produced by the surveyor will guide on the way forward,” Ms Nabakooba said on Tuesday during a meeting with local leaders and residents.

She assured: “I have been informed some people have been doing boundary openings on your land, but the reports produced don’t mean you are going to be chased from your land. As long as President Museveni is still here, no one can evict you.”

Ms Nabakooba directed that during the fresh survey, the surveyor will collaborate with the district security committee, led by the Resident District Commissioner (RDC), to open boundaries.

She assured residents that, following President Museveni’s directive to all RDCs and Resident City Commissioners (RCCs) nationwide, no one is expected to evict people.

Another land dispute exists in Migongwe Parish, where about 90 households from the villages of Kijaara and Kyakabamba are affected.

This conflict involves the National Forestry Authority (NFA), with residents accused of encroaching on government land.

The Migongwe Sub-county chairperson, Mr Julius Tumukunde, said in 2013, around 40 families took the NFA to court.

In May 2018, the court ruled in favour of the affected residents, ordering compensation and allowing them to return and settle on their land.

“NFA managed to pay back title money of about 40 percent to the residents and remained with a balance of 60 percent. In 2022, NFA went further to appeal to the court of appeal. Based on the appeal of NFA, the court declared NFA the winner and stopped the residents from using the disputed lands until further notice, a ruling that the residents later challenged in the Supreme Court,” Mr Tumukunde explained.

He added that the Supreme Court has not issued a ruling yet, but the NFA continues to evict people from the land, with some residents who resist facing assault.

In Mujwambura Parish, another land dispute involves nearly five villages with 300 households.

In Kisoira Parish, residents conflict with the NFA, where approximately 100 households were allegedly evicted without clear notice.

The Deputy Attorney General of Uganda, Mr Jackson Kafuuzi, who represents Kyaka South County Constituency in Parliament, assured residents that the Land Act protects them and that their issues will be resolved.

“Ugandan law indicates that if someone stays on the land for more than 12 years, they are ably protected and cannot be evicted,” he said.