HOIMA, February 5, 2026 — More than 1,000 residents of Kyamukwenda Parish in Kapapi Subcounty, Hoima district, are embroiled in a land dispute with the family of former Deputy Prime Minister [pm] Henry Muganwa Kajura and have petitioned the State Minister for Lands, Sam Mayanja, to intervene and safeguard their bibanja holdings.
The disputed land measures approximately 277.418 hectares and spans three villages of Kiryattete, Bulembo and Tuhumwire, accommodating more than 300 households.
Although the land is registered by Kajura, the affected locals say they have lived there for more than four decades.
According to Reginal Opio, the Chairperson of Tuhumwire village, residents decided to petition Minister Mayanja after agents of the Kajura family, accompanied by police officers, visited the land for boundary opening, triggering fear and anxiety within the community.
Opio said the residents are demanding that government cancels the land title, which they claim was illegally acquired by Kajura.
Scovia Achili, a mother of five and long-time resident, said the community is living in constant fear of eviction following the recent police presence.
She appealed to the Lands ministry to help cancel the land title and instead issue residents with freehold land titles to secure their land rights.
On his part, Kigorobya County Member of Parliament, David Karubanga, said he consulted the Commissioner for Lands and confirmed that the land title is indeed registered in Kajura’s name.
He noted that the title was processed in 2010, before the current leadership assumed office, and pledged to write formally to the Lands Minister seeking its cancellation.
Hoima district LCV Chairperson, Uthuman Mugisha Mubarak, said many residents across the district have been affected by land titles that were irregularly acquired.
However, he urged residents to remain calm, explaining that several such titles have already been earmarked for cancellation.
He emphasised that Ugandan law protects bibanja holders from unlawful eviction.
“These land titles were acquired before most of us became leaders, yet people are blaming us for mistakes made by others. I want to assure you that we are working to cancel these titles and, together with the courts, to halt eviction orders,” he said.
Meanwhile, Hoima Resident District Commissioner, Rodger Mbabazi, ordered an immediate halt to all boundary opening activities on the contested land.
He assured residents that no evictions would take place and revealed that the district security committee has launched investigations into how surveying commenced without its authorisation.
When contacted, Ratifu Kabuleta, the Estate Manager for Henry Muganwa Kajura, said the land title was lawfully acquired and that the purpose of the exercise was merely to establish boundary demarcations.
He explained that in October last year, boundaries for plots 19 and 20 were opened after obtaining a court order from the Hoima High Court, while plot 18 had not been authorised for surveying.
“There was an oversight. Our workers proceeded to open boundaries on plot 18 without notifying the District Land Board and the District Security Committee, and we apologise for that mistake,” Kabuleta said.
He added that the Kajura family has no intention of evicting residents, noting that after the boundary exercise, they intend to engage the district security committee to explore ways in which the landlord and occupants can coexist peacefully on the land.
https://thecooperator.news/minister-orders-arrests-over-alleged-encroachment-on-hoima-sugar-land/
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