Kakumiro residents get title for grabbed land
KAKUMIRO– The State Minister for Works and Transport, Fred Byamukama has restored hope among residents of Kikoola Sub-county in Kakumiro district after he handed them a land title surrendered by a land grabber.
The residents’ land on block 336 plot 24 measuring 1.5 square miles was fraudulently titled by tycoon Lawrence Kalule Ayebale in May 2018 without their knowledge.
The surrendered land title handed over on Sunday to the residents covers six villages of Kyamarigita, Bwera, Butamanga, Tuhumure, Kitabona, and Busera with over 4,000 residents from 600 families.
Minister Byamuka explained to the residents that the investigation discovered Ayebale had connived with the members of Kakumiro district land board to process the title illegally.
He said that Ayebale had one acre of land even though he processed a title covering 800 acres of land.
During the investigation, we arrested several land officers from the Kakumiro district land board who were involved in the fraudulent titling process.
He said Ayebale pleaded guilty to engaging in a dubious land deal and surrendered the fraudulent land title there and then. Byamukama added that Ayebale wrote a consent letter accepting to surrender the title.
Peter Ndyahebwa, the Chairman LC3 for Kikoola Sub-county explained that Ayebale’s land fraud was unearthed after one of the residents started the processing of titling his land.
“We got to know that our land had been illegally titled when one of us went to the land offices in Kibaale Lands Zonal Office where he was told that the land he intended to get titled had already been titled,” Ndyahebwa said.
He commended Minister Byamukama for ensuring that the land grabber handed over the land title.
Abudala Kamuhanda, a resident of the area said he was happy that the land title that had been illegally acquired was given to the community, adding that the residents have been leaving in fear of being evicted.
Rosemary Kyakuhaire, also a resident in the area was excited that they received the land title, saying that the residents had been stopped from doing productive work on the land by Ayebale.
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