Why Nakasongola leaders kicked out 2,000 settlers 

About 2,000 people who had camped on a 10-acre piece of land at Kikoiro Village in Lwampanga Sub-county, Nakasongola, between December 15 and 16 last year were evicted by the district security committee.

According to the security team, the settlers posed a security threat and had allegedly been smuggled to the village by self-seeking individuals after falsely promising to offer each family 15 acres of land for resettlement.

Nakasongola leaders allege that Mr Milton Twehangane, the group’s leader, conned the settlers of an unspecified amount of money purportedly for land purchase. However, Mr Twehangane claims he bought the land to settle the group in the district, among other areas. Mr Saleh Kamba, the Resident District Commissioner and head of the district security committee, on Monday dismissed Mr Twehangane’s claims.

“If Mr Twehangane had a good resettlement plan for his people, he would have informed the authorities in Nakasongola, including the local leaders in Lwampanga Sub-county. These people were smuggled into Nakasongola and were made to camp on a 10-acre land with poor living conditions. We could not wait to witness disaster resulting from an illegal and disguised settlement,” Mr Kamba said.

Mr Sam Kigula, the district chairperson, said the group had been transported from more than six districts within three days with a promise to resettle them in Nakasongola.

“These people ended up on a 10-acre land without pit latrines, water and shelter. They were living in an unauthorised camp,” he said on Monday.

The Savannah regional police spokesperson, Mr Sam Twinamazima, in a police statement on December 23 said the Mpokya group was evicted under Kitara Resettlement Association led by Mr Twehangane.

“The eviction was conducted peacefully under the guidance of the district security committee after finding out that the group had settled on a small piece of land that had no facilities, including houses, pit-latrines among other basics. The police are investigating the matter,” Mr Twinamazima said on Monday.

The group, according to police, came from Kakumiro, Kibale, Sembabule, Kyegegwa, Kagadi, Buhweju, Kabarole, and Bunyangabu districts, among other areas. Initially, police said the government allegedly evicted the group from Mpokya Forest Reserve back in 1992 numbered about 31,000 at the time. The evictees were temporarily relocated to Rwimi government prison land, but about 7,000 were later resettled.

The 24,000 that had moved on and settled in different parts of the country later organised meetings led by Mr Twehangane and reportedly formed the Kitara Resettlement Association of Mpokya Limited. The group, according to a police statement, raised some money to buy land in Nakasongola.

Mr Twehangane reportedly bought 53 acres of land in the district to resettle more than 5,000 people. In a police statement, Mr Twehangane said he had purchased the land from Mr Godfrey Banunu in Lwampanga Sub-county.

The leaders did not commit themselves about how much each group members contributed. However, the resettlement was outside any known government procedure. The security committee also reported that four people from the group died and were buried in Kikoiro.

The cause of death was not investigated. Sources from the group members earlier told this publication that they had paid money to Mr Twehangane under Kitara Resettlement Association Ltd to buy the land.

“We had come to settle on land that our leaders had purchased in Nakasongola. Each family was supposed to get at least 15 acres of land for resettlement but we found ourselves in a camp at Kikoiro. We have suffered for the last 30 years after our eviction from Mpokya Forest Reserve by the government in 1992,” Mr Richard Kawamara, a group member, claimed.

This publication could not independently verify places of relocation but sources reveal that the majority of the group relocated to Mubende, Kakumiro and Sembabule districts. 

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