Kikuube: Over 1,000 residents regain land after cancelation of two land titles
KIKUUBE, November 20, 2023 – Over 1,000 residents of Musaijjamukuru and Mukabara villages in Kikuube district can now sleep after government retrieved their land from unscrupulous tycoons.
Last Thursday, the State Minister for Lands, Dr. Sam Mayanja, announced that his ministry had successfully cancelled the two land titles processed by the tycoons, resulting in the jubilation of the residents.
The residents of Musaijjamukuru and Mukabara villages located in Buhimba Sub-county and Kiziranfumbi Sub-county respectively were living in fear after discovering early this year that their land had been illegally titled.
It is alleged that tycoons, including Prince Charles Nyabongo Ochaki, former legislator for Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom Rukurato, and Job Muhumuza, a Kampala based businessman, among others processed titles measuring 127.5590 hectares on plot 172 block 22 in Musaijjamukuru and another measuring 297.664 hectares in Mukabara village in Kiziranfumbi Sub-county. The titles were allegedly processed on November 18, 2020.
However, on Thursday, Minister Mayanja, accompanied RDC Tumusiime among others, held a meeting where they disclosed to the residents that the land titles acquired by the tycoons had been cancelled and that the residents were free to use the land in question.
Neba Byaruhanga, the former chairman for Buhimba Sub-county said government’s cancellation of the land titles was a big relief to the poor who had abandoned utilising the land fully in fear of being evicted.
John Kembabazi, a resident of Musaijamukuru village, thanked government for fighting for the rights of the poor. However, he appealed to the government to help the poor register their land to avert a similar situation. “We had abandoned engaging in long time development. We are happy and we are going to start utilising our land without any fear,” he said.
While speaking during the meeting, Minister Mayanja said government, through its different agencies and departments, is determined to end illegal land eviction in the country.
He added: “Soon you will hear of many land officers involved in land corruption being arrested and charged. We have designed a new strategy to identify fake land titles from genuine ones and the public will soon know how the system works.”
On his part, Tumusiime called upon all stakeholders to join hands in fighting land grabbing, saying that the vice, if not fought, will affect service delivery.
He argued that for government programmes like the Parish Development Model [PDM] to succeed, beneficiaries need to have security of occupancy on their land. “Therefore, if the government does not help people stay on their land peacefully, such programmes are going to be negatively affected,” he said.
Meanwhile, Buhaguzi East Member of Parliament in Kikuube district, Stephen Aseera Aka Itaza distanced himself from the land grabbing saga, saying the land grabbers used his name to process the land titles without his knowledge, adding that he was involved throughout the process to ensure that the two land titles are canceled.
https://thecooperator.news/leaders-ask-museveni-to-intervene-in-kikuube-land-row/
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