Leave our Buikwe land, Buganda tells Kibuule

Kampala- The Buganda Land Board has said the Minister of State for Water, Mr Ronald Kibuule, has grabbed Buganda Kingdom’s land in Buikwe District, a claim he denies.
According to Mr Denis Buyaga, the Legal Manager for Buganda Land Board (BLB), which oversees the Kingdom’s land matters, they have petitioned the central government to cancel Mr Kibuule’s title deeds for the claimed land, saying they are fake.

“There are about 605 acres of land in Kyagwe (Buikwe) belonging to the Office of the Nabagereka (Queen) that is officially managed by Buganda Land Board that has been illegally owned by a number of people. Of this, the Minister claims to own 85 acres. This is Kabaka’s (Buganda Kingdom) land and we have titles to that effect,” Mr Buyaga told journalists at the Kingdom’s seat in Mengo, Kampala, last Friday.
Daily Monitor ran a story on October 11 that Mr Dick Wasswa, one of the tenants on the disputed land in Golomolo Village, Najja Sub-county in Buikwe, was beaten by Kibuule’s police guards watching the place.

Mr Wasswa later succumbed to the injuries in Mulago Hospital on October 8 and was buried at a relative’s place at Kkunyu Village, Ngogwe Sub-county in Buikwe District.
On October 12, Mr Kibuule while at her home at Mbalala in Mukono District insisted the land belongs to him.

Displaying photocopies of what he called the title deed and the sale agreement, Mr Kibuule vowed to die protecting “his land”.
When asked to respond to Buganda Land Board’s claim that the said land belongs to the kingdom and he has fake titles to it, Mr Kibuule said: “I bought the land from Musa Katongole who got it from Namasole (the Queen) as a gift. If Buganda Kingdom has proof of ownership of the land, we can sit and have a way forward. Should they decide to go to court, then we shall meet there.”
“I bought this land to start a water transport business on Lake Victoria with Chinese. I have also bought land in Kayunga and other places. I do compensate squatters and I am still compensating others. I did not grab land,” he added.
He also denied accusations that his police guards killed one of the tenants on the land in dispute.

“If it means dying, I will die but I will not allow people who want to take away my right to own land. I bought this land using my money, it was not a donation to me,” Mr Kibuule told journalists at his home in Mbalala last week.
Mr Buyaga urged the affected tenants to register their land with BLB offices in Buikwe.

“There are about 1,000 people on this disputed land but only 200 have registered with us. Those who have not registered should hurry and register. We hear one of the tenants has gone to court, we are studying the case and will see how we can be part of it,” Mr Buyaga said.

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