Wakiso land row: Police accused of harassing locals
Some of the affected bibanja holders attend a meeting in Busamba Village, Wakiso District, on December 20, 2022. PHOTO/FILE
What you need to know:
- The bibanja holders, who live on the land located at Busiro Block 53, measuring 1,044.9 acres, are also concerned about the heavy presence of muscular men, known as bouncers, in the area, who are intimidating them to allow the surveying of their pieces of land.
Occupants of a contested family land in Namayumba Sub-county, Wakiso District, have accused police of harassing residents who have refused to accept what they describe as illegal surveying of their land.
The bibanja holders, who live on the land located at Busiro Block 53, measuring 1,044.9 acres, are also concerned about the heavy presence of muscular men, known as bouncers, in the area, who are intimidating them to allow the surveying of their pieces of land.
Mr Pascal Kitooke, who is among the affected tenants, told this publication on Wednesday that his elder brother, Mr Godfrey Mayerere who has also been the head of Bibanja holders in Busamba Village, went into hiding early this week.
This was after the officer-in-charge of Namayumba Police Station, Ms Moreen Kobutungi, summoned him to her office, after one Alisa reported him to her office on allegations of threatening to harm him.
But Mr Kitooke said Alisa is not a known resident of Busamba Village and the residents, who talked to Daily Monitor, suspect police are conniving with the land grabbers to get back at the defiant Bibanja holders.
Mr Kitooke said trouble started when his brother, who works as manager at a farm owned by one Kanunku on the contested Wakiso family land, allowed people, who owned plots within the farm, to grade the access road.
“During the meeting, we had with officials from the Ministry of Lands and leaders from Wakiso district, the Lands minister Judith Nabakooba said bibanja owners can continue utilitilising their land as investigations regarding rightful land owners go on,” he said.
“We were surprised to see people, unknown to our village but claiming to be landlords coming with bouncers to stop the grading exercise,” Mr Kitooke added.
But Ms Kobutungi denied allegations that she had summoned bibanja holders to her office. “I have not summoned anyone to my office,” she said.
What leaders say
The Wakiso District Resident Commissioner, Ms Justine Mbabazi, said she was not aware of any harassment instigated against bibanja holders by police. However, Mr Kitooke and other residents confirmed that they had called the RDC about the bouncers in Busamba Village.
When contacted, the District Police Commander (DPC), Mr Hassan Katumba Mugerwa, said his officers on ground had denied any allegations of harassing the bibanja holders. “If anyone is saying they are harassed by police, let them come to my office so that we understand the problem,” he said.
The family of the late Lubajja has since last year been embroiled in a land conflict over ownership of the land in question, leaving over 1,000 bibanja holders in uncertainty .
The case is currently in court.
