Row erupts over Buganda clan land in Nansana
Members of the Mpologoma clan are seen removing logs cut by people who they accuse of trying to grab their cultural land on August 13,2023. PHOTO/NOELINE NABUKENYA
What you need to know:
- Buganda Kingdom has said it is aware of the issues concerning the Mpologoma clan land and a meeting involving all interested parties will soon convene.
Buganda Kingdom’sMPologoma clan leaders have protested a move by a mysterious land developer who has cleared part of their ancestral land (Obuttaka) at Lwadda Village, Nansana Municipality in Wakiso District for redevelopment without their consent.
Last week, unknown people descended on the clan land and started cutting down trees, and clearing the bush, a move clan leaders condemned saying “is intended to grab their land.”
According to Mpologoma clan secretary Isaac Michael Mwenge, the piece of land measuring about seven acres was cleared and subdivided into plots for sale on August 6, 2023.
Mwenge said “the ancestral land has never been legally sold to anyone, adding that they were surprised to see part of it being cleared.”
He revealed that the entire piece of land measures 640 acres, but part of it (25 acres) had been leased to Maj Gen Elly Kayanja whose 49-year lease elapsed in July 2022.
“Gen Kayanja is very well aware his lease expired and was not renewed. We expect him to seek consent from the stakeholders before he tries to do anything on our land,” he told Monitor in a Tuesday interview.
Maj Gen Elly Kayanja claims ownership of the disputed land. PHOTO/FILE
Gen Kayanja’s known telephone contact has been out of rich since Monday but in a previous interview with this publication, he dismissed claims by the Mpologoma clan leaders that he grabbed the clan land.
He said he rightful acquired a lease on 25 acres from Uganda Land Commission where he planted fruit trees, not 1 square mile as claimed by Mpologoma clan leaders.
“The land which I own in that area [ Lwadda Village] is 25 acres, not 1 square mile. I have fruit trees like mangoes there, and some telecommunication companies erected their masts, part of it will be used for real estate,” Gen Kayanja said in a previous interview.
The serviceman noted that he was ready to work with Mpologoma clan leaders and open boundaries as a way of resolving the dispute.
But Mwenge says the title for the entire clan land is still with Buganda Land Board (BLB) despite a directive by Buganda king [Kabaka] Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II to hand it over to the clan leadership.
“When President Museveni returned the titles to the Kingdom in 2013, ours was among those, but BLB has since declined to release it to us despite a directive from the Kabaka,” he claimed.
On Tuesday, Mwenge vowed that their next step is to mobilise all clan members to march to Bulange, the official seat of Buganda Kingdom that also houses BLB, to demand their land title.
Asked to comment on the matter, Buganda Kingdom spokesperson Israel Kaziibwe said the kingdom is aware of the issues concerning the Mpologoma clan land and a meeting involving all interested parties will soon convene to look into the matter.
"When the duration of the lease elapses, there are procedures followed before the land reverts to the original owner," he said by telephone on Tuesday.
