Buganda clan appoints team to redeem ancestral land

A team of five people has been appointed to redeem part of the ancestral land constituting the cultural headquarters of Buganda Kingdom’s Ffumbe clan known as “Embuga ya’walusimbi.”

Clan officials say the land has reportedly been encroached on by grabbers at Bakka Hill, Busiro in Wakiso District.

Ffumbe Clan head Omutaka Walusimbi Mbirozankya Yusufu Kigumba Makubuya appointed the team led by Eng William Ssebaggala, the former clan premier.

Other members of the committee are Kampala lawyer Felix Kintu Nteza (clan attorney), Dr Ronald Ssengendo (president of surveyors), businessman Simon Peter Lubwama and Dr Edith Nakku.

The clan committee will coordinate the campaign initiated by Makubuya to remove the land grabbers from the said land, and regain control of the cultural headquarters (embuga), other cultural sites and to protect it from further encroachment. 

While announcing the committee members, Makubuya explained that the team will help the clan to reclaim its land that is being encroached by perpetrators disguising to be working for high profile people in government, including defence forces chief Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba and President Museveni.

Makubuya emphasized that it is not true as rumored that he sold the customary land to President Museveni, maintaining that “the land is not registered in his name but under the trust, which has several trustees.”

He further stated that in line with the guidance from Buganda King Ronald Mutebi II to have all clan land in Buganda registered under a trust, the Ffumbe Clan was registered as the Registered Trustees of the Ffumbe Clan, whose Trustees are the clan head “O’wakasolya”and four sub clan heads “Amasiga,” 

Makubuya blamed the unscrupulous persons for perpetuating lies to the public in order to discredit him and further their selfish motive of grabbing the Ffumbe ancestral land.

According to Makubuya, the contested land has culturally been owned by Ffumbe clan for more than three centuries.  

A copy of the land title seen by this reporter indicates that land described as Busiro Block 186 plot 3 at Bakka is also registered in the name of the Trustees of the Ffumbe Clan.

Makubuya said he is trying to meet Gen Muhoozi to inform him of the land grabbers using his name in attempts to steal the property.

Ffumbe clan publicist, Kisitu Musajjaliddeki Petero Lukayanirwa said that the situation on the land is worrying. 

“Our colleagues, who are falsely claiming ownership of clan land have been in courts of law several times and lost all the cases. It is not that we are grabbing that land; there is a letter and evidence from our former clan head Semei Kiwanda under whom the land grabbers claim, apologizing for selling part of the clan land in 1994. He was even interdicted for 8 months from his position as clan head and he wrote an apology and paid fine of a cow, local brew and Shs10,000. If it was his land, why would he do all this,” he wondered.

According to Kisitu, the former Ffumbe clan head (Kiwanda) had his own land titles and in his name ‘Semei  Kiwanda’ yet the clan land is registered in head of clan name Walusimbi and that for all clan heads no one has ever had the name Walusimbi. 

“There are clan members on the land but their bibanja are being reduced by land grabbers who claim that the land belonged to their grandfather who was once a clan head, which is false” he added.

Land grabbing is common in central Uganda.

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