There was a sigh of relief for the troubled residents of Bukuya in Kasanda district when Lands Minister Judith Nabakooba assured them about President Yoweri Museveni’s directive that they are the right owners of the contested land .
The land which covers six villages with over ten thousand residents is located at Kitumbi-Bukuya in Kasanda district .Nabakooba while addressing the residents -gave a detailed account about the disputed land which land grabbers were interested in while threatening the residents with evictions .
Government had allocated the land in question to Drake Ndiwalana and Athanasius Babera Kaihura for 44 years to be with the lease. The land was surveyed on Block 493 Plot 3 and is 1214 hectares with a lease volume of 130 folio 24.
The title to the land was subsequently given to the two individuals on October 24, 1978 under instrument number 23358 with conditions of farming and ranching as the only activities to be carried out on the land. The lease elapsed on September 31, 2021 . This is when land grabbers begun the process of fraudulently acquiring ownership of the land through the different committees like the Area Land Committees and the District land Board to get titles.
Dr Michael Bukenya, the Bukuya County MP told the meeting that over 10,000 residents were living in fear since some unscrupulous people had applied for the said land in the names of the children of the late Ndiwalana but the district remained tight lipped about these individuals .
Dr. Buekenya said that as the area legislator, he had to move fast and seek clarity from the lands minister to stop the would- be eviction of his constituents.“
There is no single activity on the land, we think someone wants to take it on behalf of the others. My constituents have been asking me to defend their land from being grabbed,” he said. The MP decried this kind of of impunity which he said impedes the implementation of the NRM manifesto which is geared towards helping the people from the grass root to get economically empowered and fight poverty .
At Lubaari Village in Kasanda district, Minister Nabakooba assured the residents that the land belongs to government and no one would evict them . ” This land is going back into the hands of ULC and it will come on ground and implement the presidential directive,” she said amid ululation. Nabakooba added: “On my way here, I told the president that I was coming and I shared with him that according to the documents I have, the land belongs to the Uganda Land Commission and not the district. He told me if it belongs to ULC, tell my people that I have given it to them,” Nabakooba said as the locals jubilated.
She said that she was going to implement that presidential directive and a team from the Uganda Land Commission will open boundaries to survey the land under the guidance of the district and RDC so people know how much each of them has and what belongs to the district.
“We shall do this with the RDC after I have written to them (ULC) informing them of the presidential directive on this matter. I urge you to work closely with the RDC and your MP who has been fighting for your land rights. Remain calm, we shall continue working with your leaders to ensure that your issue is resolved .”
