Tension as Wakiso land dealer seeks to evict villages

Jamira Namusera, a 70-year-old woman, was born, raised, and married in Bujimba Village, Namayumba Sub-county, Wakiso District. She has lived her entire life there.

After some years, she and her husband Pascal acquired five acres of land as bonafide occupants on the 1,044-acre estate owned by the late Gabdyeri Lubajja.

However, they are now on the verge of losing a significant portion of their land. A land dealer, whose name we have withheld because we were unable to talk to her by press time, allegedly forcefully demarcated and sold it to an unnamed property agency.

“She has demarcated all our eucalyptus trees and coffee plants, which were my livelihood, and even our maize. We are nearly landless because she almost took the latrine, yet we never sold to her or had any engagement with her,” Ms Namusera lamented.

She is not alone. Thousands of people in the villages of Bujimba, Ngondwe, Busamba-Kinyika, Gayaza, and Kanziro face eviction despite a court order halting transactions on the disputed land. In Ngondwe, the dealer began by razing people’s gardens in December. Residents reported that she is now dividing the land into plots and selling them.

Mr John Wanito, another affected resident, accused her of grabbing one acre of his land and constructing a fence around it.

“My maize, coffee, mangoes, oranges, and other food plantations are locked inside. When I tried to cultivate my garden, her boys beat me up, calling me a trespasser,” he recounted.

Ms Fortunate Akampulira, another resident of Ngondwe, expressed her suffering. She said: “She has caused all forms of mayhem. She forcefully took my land, cut down my mango, jackfruit trees, and coffee plantations. I am suffering.”

During a tour of the area, this publication observed various demarcations and plots being created on people’s land in Bujimba and Ngondwe villages.

There were also markers indicating where new roads would be constructed through the gardens to facilitate access for potential buyers. Residents claimed the dealer had sold the two acres she legitimately purchased in Ngondwe to a property agency, deceiving them about her ownership of a larger portion.

By Saturday evening, a bulldozer reportedly deployed by the dealer was still razing people’s gardens. She had defended her actions in a December 4, 2023, report, stating: “I am the owner of this land. I am negotiating with the Bibanja holders for a win-win solution, sharing 50 percent equally and processing titles for them.”

She dismissed the residents’ complaints as the work of masqueraders and shared photos of some agreements she had reportedly reached with them.

Her involvement with the land began when she was brought in as a surveyor by some of the late Lubajja’s grandchildren, led by administrators Richard Semitala and Eastrious Ssegantebuka. 

Her surveying services were reportedly paid with 150 acres of land, and she later acquired an additional 50 acres, raising her stake to 200 acres.

Other grandchildren, led by Josephine Mpamulungi and Teddy Namusoke, sued Semitala and Ssegantebuka, alleging fraud in obtaining letters of administration and bringing in the dealer.

Mpamulungi and Namusoke also filed a civil suit against the dealer and 27 residents with whom she had allegedly shared land and given special titles. The High Court’s Family Division is expected to start the case soon.

Mpamulungi said: “She is razing people’s gardens while the case is in court. Nothing is being done.”

In June last year, the court issued a temporary injunction blocking all activities on the disputed land. This followed a directive by Lands Minister Judith Nabakooba at a security meeting on May 21, halting any transactions.

The State House Anti-Corruption Unit investigated the matter, and its report, described by residents as biased, cleared her. Residents appealed for intervention from President Museveni, fearing for their safety.

The land dispute’s roots trace back to the late Lubajja, who had 11 children, nine of whom are deceased. The surviving children, Hasfa Nankabira and Efransie Namayanja, are at the centre of the conflict. 

Two letters from Kayira Gajule, head of the Mbogo Clan, recognised the children and detailed how the property would be shared. The boundary demarcation began in December 2022. The problem arose when Ssemitala and Ssegantebuka hired her to draw the demarcations, paying her 150 acres of land.

In November last year, Semitala defended the decision to bring her onto the land, stating it was a family agreement. He added that compensating her with 150 acres for her surveying services was also agreed upon.