Kikuube: Over 500 evicted from government land

KIKUUBE– Security has evicted over 500 people who were illegally occupying government land in Butoole Parish, Kyangwali sub-county in Kikuube district.

The land in question measuring over 3,000 acres of land registered under Nguse Ranchers Limited, was acquired by government two years ago after it disbursed  Shs 5 billion as compensation to the former landlords, including the Minister for Public Service, Muruli Mukasa, the late Kampala businessman John Bahemuka, and several others.

Government compensated the landlords using the Land Fund but is yet to officially resettle people who were living on the land before it bought it off.

The evictees who had constructed thousands of makeshift structures on the land were told to leave on Wednesday during a security meeting chaired by the Kikuube resident district commissioner [RDC], Amlan Tumusiime.

The meeting was attended by Albertine region police commander Vicente Mwesigye and Commissioner of RDCs in President’s Office, Sister Mary Grace Akiror, and Buhaguzi County Member of Parliament, Francis Kazini.

Some of the evictees claimed that they owned plots on the said land before government bought it and therefore have the right to live on the land.

However, RDC Tumusiime said those who recently bought plots on the land had been conned given that it became government property after former landlords were compensated, advising the land fraud victims to report to police.

He noted that no one is allowed to occupy the said land without being permitted by authorities.

However, Akiroro wondered how the groups invaded the land and shared it among themselves, describing them as land grabbers.

She said Minister of Lands, Judith Nabakoba would soon visit the area to see how the rights of the Bibanja holders if there are any,  will be protected and considered.

Mwesigye warned the residents against taking the law into their hands and asked them to vacate the land peacefully.

He promised to arrest fraudsters who have been collecting money from the residents.

MP Kazini commended security for intervening and challenged the Bibanja holders to remain calm, saying government would resettle them on the land.

Bashir Abdulla, one of the over 1,000 people who were evicted from the disputed land by the landlords in 2010 said he returned after getting information that some people were selling and allocating plots to new buyers.

Baneti Mwesigwa who says is a bonafide occupant claimed they decided to return to the land to protect their rights, adding they had won a court case against former landlords whom the government compensated.

John Bosco Mugisha, a resident of Kasoga village said the late Bahemuka’s son, Johnson Mbabazi, sold him five acres on the same land in January this year.

The evictees were forced to demolish and burn the makeshift structures erected on the land.

https://thecooperator.news/leaders-ask-museveni-to-intervene-in-kikuube-land-row/

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