Buganda tasked to explain evictions

State minister for Higher Education, Dr John Chrysostom Muyingo

What you need to know:

  • On Tuesday, Katikkiro Charles Peter Mayiga, during a press conference at the Kingdom headquarters at Bulange, in Mengo Kampala, avoided to speak about this incident. but said all evictions on kingdom land are done by those people who are given leases, not the kingdom.
  • The Katikkiro announced that the Kabaka had directed that all tenants on kingdom land, who are fully registered, be issued with 49-year lease titles in six -month campaign dubbed “a title at your hands”, to help tenants on Kingdom land legitimise their tenancy and soothe land disputes in the kingdom.

LUWEERO. Authorities in Luweero District have condemned the manner in which Buganda Kingdom officials recently attempted to evict tenants from Plot 1373, Block 19 at Bugabo village, Kalagala Sub-county in Luweero District.
The contested land measuring 107 acres has about 78 families who have resisted eviction by the Buganda Royal Treasury (Nkuluze) officials.
Last weekend, police in Luweero District arrested 16 people who claimed to have been part of 65 youth armed with clubs who tried to enforce the eviction mobilised by Nkuluze.
They were, however, overpowered by the tenants who later torched a motor grader which had destroyed about five acres of crops belonging to the tenants.

Luweero District police commander Paul Wataka confirmed the arrests to Daily Monitor yesterday, saying police will not allow illegal evictions in the area. “We do not encourage lawlessness. Land matters must be done in line with the law. We also condemn the torching of the grader,” Mr Wataka said.
Last weekend, State minister for Higher Education and also MP for Bamunanika County, Dr John Chrysostom Muyingo, condemned the manner in which the eviction was organised, saying residents were inconvenienced while celebrating Easter. “We should condemn all the illegal land evictions and ask our people to carry out land transactions within the set laws,” the minister said.

Authorities in Luweero, including the district chairperson, Mr Ronald Ndawula, the RDC and the District Internal Security Office confirmed to Daily Monitor yesterday that they were not consulted by Buganda Kingdom officials when planning the eviction at Bugabo village. “We were surprised to hear that their eviction had already started,” Mr Ndawula said.
The kingdom information minister, Mr Noah Kiyimba, when contacted by Daily Monitor, said: “It is unfortunate that a few individuals are turning around to cause trouble yet most of the tenants have been compensated,” Mr Kiyimba told Daily Monitor yesterday.