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Over 10,000 occupants ordered to vacate 600-acre land in Rakai
The Officer in Charge of Operations at Rakai Police Station orders the Rakai District Woman MP Ms Juliet Kinyamatama and the residents to vacate the premises said to be owned by a UPDF officer. PHOTO | AMBROSE MUSASIZI
What you need to know:
- Police officers from Rakai General Police Station under the command of the DPC, Ms Shifa Kiribwa, on Tuesday stormed Kyakago village in an attempt to evict the residents.
At least 10,000 residents in the villages of Kyakago and Kaseese in Kibanda Sub County, Rakai District have been ordered to vacate the 600-acre piece of land they are alleged to be illegally occupying.
Police officers from Rakai General Police Station under the command of the DPC, Ms Shifa Kiribwa, on Tuesday stormed Kyakago village in an attempt to evict the residents.
Ms Kiribwa says they obtained a court order directing them to provide security to the people who claim to be the rightful owners of the land.
“My office received an order from Grade I Magistrate’s Court directing me to provide security as the owners of the land opened boundaries on it. I did as directed,” she said.
It called for the intervention of the Rakai District Woman MP, Ms Juliet Ssuubi Kinyamatama, to stop the whole process of evicting residents.
She faulted the Police for unlawfully evicting residents from the land they have stayed for over 30 years.
“I would expect such a court order to come from the High Court in Masaka, not a mere Grade One. Police have to be considerate in such matters. First of all the local authorities are not aware of the one claiming to own the land meaning the way they acquired it might be questionable,” Ms Kinyamatama said.
“If someone is ejecting residents on a piece of land where they have lived for all those years, where they have grown crops and raised their families, then one must be insane,” she said.
Mr Thomas Byamungu, one of the residents of Kyakago village, accused Police officers of intimidating his wife and children hence chasing them away from his home.
“Policemen came to my home in the morning with big guns which scared away my children and wife. I tried to insist as a man but I was told to vacate the place as they prepared to cook their food in my kitchen. We decided to go to the neighborhood where we expect to spend the night,” he said on Tuesday.
Ms Kiribwa, however, denied Byamungu’s claims that the officers had sent him out of his family.
“The officers cannot do such an act. The children and wife could have feared by mere looking at the guns and decided to run away but there were no intentions of chasing them away from their home,” she explained.
According to the chairperson of Kyakago village, Mr Twaha Sseruyima, a captain in Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) whom he identified as Karambizi is behind this entire saga.
“We are wondering whether the government is really on our side. A UPDF serving officer who identified himself as Karambizi is the one behind this entire saga. He intimidated all police officers and they only have to act under his orders,” he claimed.
When contacted, Mr Karambizi said he acquired the land through the right channels after buying it from the three owners namely; Mr Emmanuel Gakwandi, Mr Erias Ndawula, and Mr Fred Kazungu.
Mr Sseruyima, however, said that for the years he has lived at Kyakago, none of these has ever been a resident and wonders how they managed to acquire the land.
Ms Kinyamatama called on the responsible authorities to act accordingly and save the vulnerable residents.
