Residents of Migongwe Sub-county in Kyegegwa District have got some relief after lands Minister, Judith Nabakooba, assured them that they wont be evicted from their land .
At a meeting held in Bulingo village Nabakooba told the affected communities to work with the security committee led by the Resident District Commissioner (RDC) to open boundaries on the disputed land and a surveyor’s report be made within one week before she issues further directives .
The minister , however emphaised that the status quo should remain and that one should be evicted from their land . “ President Museveni issued a directive to all RDCs and Resident City Commissioners (RCCs) across the country that no one should evict people. Article 237 of the I995 Ugandan Constitution that gives powers over ownership of land to the citizens.
I have been informed some people have been opening boundaries of the disputed land . The local leaders should be involved in these processes to ensure transparency and protect the people’s interests ,” she directed .
. “Give us some time we do boundary opening to know the size each person owns and after we shall help you to apply and get yourself land titles. The surveyor report will helps to guide on the way forward,” she added.
Deputy Attorney General of Uganda, Jackson Kafuuzi, who doubles as Kyaka South County Constituency representative in parliament, told the residents that the Land Act protects them and they should be assured the issues will be resolved.
“Ugandan law indicates that if someone stays on the land for more than 12 years, they are ably protected and cannot be chased,” he said.
Migongwe chairperson, Mr Julius Tumukunde told the minister that residents from four parishes (Kigorani, Migongwe, Mujwambura and Kisoira) in Kyegegwa District and some parts of Kyenjojo District were living in fear of being illegally evicted.
“In some of those areas, matters proceeded to court but the ruling was in favour of other parties, leaving our locals with eviction orders,” Mr Tumukunde said.
He revealed that in Kigorani Parish alone, a lady identified as Dorothy Mwirumubi Baguma conducted boundary opening on their land, and the survey report produced overlapping plots.
The land was formerly in the name of a cooperative company called Mawino which she owned with her late husband, Crescent Mwirumubi Baguma, but later made transfers to her name.
“She used the land title as collateral security to acquire a bank loan yet the land covers about 2,000 households in Kyegegwa and Kyenjojo Districts,” the chairperson said.
Despite convening a meeting in 2022 with the owner of the land title (Dorothy Baguma) and agreeing to cancel the title or correct the errors, nothing was done.
Migongwe Parish is another hot spot where the residents are battling with the National Forestry Authority (NFA), to protected some 90 homesteads from being evicted . The disputed land covers two villages of Kyakabamba and Kijaara .
In Mujwambura Parish, at least five villages are affected with 30 households involved.
