Namutumba leaders raise the red flag over land grabbing

Mr Kizito Mukasa, the chief administrative officer (CAO), on Wednesday said a number of people claim part of the land, adding that the district local revenue is too low to secure a land title.

“The land title issue has been hampered by lack of adequate budget. Imagine the 284 acreage of land that the district sits on  lacks a land  title,” he said.

Mr Kizito said the district has resolved to suspend parish chiefs from collecting local revenue with effect from the 2021/2022 financial year.

“It is on record that during the time the parish chiefs have been in-charge of  collecting revenue, it has been misappropriated, making the district unable to meet its development targets,” he added.

Parish chiefs in Namutumba have for the past three years been collecting local revenue from retail and wholesale shops, market vendors and weekly markets on behalf of the Local Government.

Before this, the local revenue collection was being done by individual contractors.
However, the district now wants to do away with the parish chiefs after realising that they are not collecting as much revenue as the individual contractors were doing.
The land in contention is being used for settlement and farming. 

“We are not secure until we get the land title. Also, plans to interrogate land grabbers are underway,” Mr Kizito said.
Mr David Wako, the outgoing councillor representing Ivukula Sub-county, blamed the rapid encroachment on the district  land board’s alleged failure to process the title.

Mr Wako said for the past 10 years, the district council has always  passed supplementary budgets for processing the land title in vain.

“The people grabbing the land are our own people. I only used to hear about land grabbing in Jinja, but it has now reached our district. If the CAO is to probe whoever is  grabbing the land, he should start with  the technical staff and district councillors, not forgetting members on the land board,” he said.

“There is need to vacate whoever is settled on the contested land as the district processes the land title and I urge the CAO to involve the police,” Mr Wako added.
Mr Wako also accused politicians, technical staff and the district land board members of being behind the vice.

Mr Emma Maganda, the outgoing  district speaker, however, refuted  allegations that all the 284 acres of land lack titles.

“The district land has a title but it seems to have been misplaced, otherwise it was secured some years back,” he said, urging the incoming leadership to follow up on the title because funds have been allocated in the next financial year.

“Part of the land was allocated to  Uganda Police Force to construct its headquarters, court and Basoga  Nsadhu Institute. Whoever is settled on  the land, which was not allocated to them by district council, is occupying it illegally,”  Mr Maganda said.

Mr Simon Peter Wakudumira, the councillor representing Nawaikona Sub-county, called for the need to secure  titles for all government land.

He added that land grabbing is  also at sub-county and parish level.

Residents say
Mr Wilber Baguma, a resident, said he inherited two acres of land from his father, but it was grabbed. 

“It is unfortunate that the district doesn’t know the volume of land  it has,” he said.
Another affected person only identified  as ‘Yokana’ said the land he is using for farming was given to him by a politician.

“I did not buy this land, but have been using it for four years for farming as a caretaker but it belongs to  a politician,” he said.
Ms Maimuna Nakiranda, a farmer, said she hired three acres of land from a district councillor who claims to have ownership over it.

“I have been using this land for the past 12 years and I pay Shs300,000 each planting season. No local is grabbing the district land, but it is the leaders and technical staff who are doing so,” she said.

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