Wakiso residents seek Museveni help over eviction
Disgruntled residents of Ngondwe Village in the disputed Busamba land in July 2024. Photo/Busein Samilu
What you need to know:
- The land dealer has since December last year, she has allegedly been destroying people’s gardens, causing alarms.
Residents of five villages in Wakiso District, who have faced eviction threats since 2022, have asked President Museveni to intervene.
More than 5,000 residents, majority Bibanja holders, who live in the five villages of Busamba, Kinyika, Gayaza, Ngondwe, and Kanziro have been trapped in a 1,044-acre land wrangle between the grandchildren of the late Gabdyeri Lubajja.
The locals are living in fear since the emergence of a land dealer, who claims a 200-acre stake of the land.
The land dealer, whose names we have withheld, according to residents, was hired to survey the land in question by one of the conflicting two parties and given 150 acres as payment for her services. She later acquired an additional 50 acres, raising her stake to 200 acres.
Since December last year, she has allegedly been destroying people’s gardens, causing alarms.
On Wednesday last week, more than 70 residents of Kinyika Village blocked a tractor allegedly belonging to the land dealer that had come to destroy their gardens. “Since 2022, we have been crying but the government has decided to ignore our cries. We have decided to defend ourselves if it means dying protecting what belongs to us, we shall do it,” a resident who preferred anonymity for fear of being victimised, said.
He added: “[Lands] Minister [Judith] Nabakooba was here in May last year and promised to return and present a report by the State House, but to date, she has never returned. We only saw a sham report clearing the land dealer to take our land.”
The business lady, who could not be reached for a comment yesterday, told this newspaper on December 4, 2023 that she legally owns the 200 acres of land and vowed to take control of it.
“I am the owner of that land, what I am doing now is to negotiate with the Bibanja holders a win-win solution and we are sharing 50 percent equally and I process the titles for them,” Ms Nakato said after destroying gardens on the contested land in December.
Residents accused the police and local chairpersons of unfairly siding with the land dealer.
Monitor could not independently verify the residents’ claims by press time.
“Namayumba Police Station summoned our people and eight of them were made to record statements, but since we went in big numbers, we protested their detention,” another resident, who also asked not to be named for fear of reprisal, said.
Monitor has seen a September 25 summon where the said residents were asked to appear before the CID of Namayumba Police Station to help in the investigation of malicious damage and assault cases.
