Government to resettle evicted families

A makeshift camp that accomodates more than 200 families that were evicted from Bukinda parish in Kyangwali sub-county in Hoima district. Courtsey photo

What you need to know:

The case. The families were evicted in 2013 from Bukinda parish in Kyangwali Sub-county.

Hoima. The Prime Minister, Dr Ruhakana Rugunda, has announced government plans to resettle families displaced from land around Kyangwali Refugee Settlement Camp.
The Premier who was meeting displaced families in Bukinda parish in Kyangwali, Hoima District on Thursday, said: “We would like to assure all those who were evicted, that they will be resettled in accordance with the law, following the verification exercise by the team which government is putting in place.”
He said the verification team will comprise representatives from Bonyoro-Kitara Kingdom, Hoima District Local Government, and relevant Central Government officials.

Dr Rugunda’s trip to Kyangwali followed a petition to President Museveni by Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom officials who met the head of state at Mubende state lodge on January 30. The delegation, led by the Omukama of Bunyoro Kitara, Dr Solomon Gafabusa Iguru 1, asked the President to intervene in unresolved land disputes in Bunyoro region which have left properties destroyed, families displaced and caused anxiety among the population.
The President met leaders of the displaced communities led by the Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom First Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Xavier Joseph Kiiza, at Kisozi farm in Gomba District on Tuesday.

Mr Kiiza told this newspaper in a separate interview that the President promised to resolve the matter.
Since August 2013, there have been land tensions in the oil-rich Kyangwali sub-county, following a government decision to evict thousands of families that lived in Bukinda parish.
The residents, who were evicted from the land, set up a makeshift camp at Kyangwali sub-county headquarters where they have lived for over a year while others sought refuge at Rwemisanga Catholic Parish.