Jinja Hospital, Muslims ordered off contested land

Security organs have declared Plot 31-39 Nile Avenue out of bounds to Jinja Regional Referral Hospital and the Muslim community since the matter is in court. 

The decision was arrived at during a meeting chaired by Jinja Resident City Commissioner (RCC) Darius Nandinda, who said he was acting after consulting the Ministry of Lands, Uganda Lands Commission, and the Office of the Presidency, among other stakeholders.

“To avoid any misunderstanding between the health workers at Jinja Hospital and the Muslim community in Jinja City, security has taken over the land,” Nandinda said on April 16.

He added: “No construction is allowed (on the land) and nobody from both parties is to access the area until the matter is legally solved. Since the land is in the hands of security, it remains out of bounds to anybody from both parties.”

According to Nandinda, both parties have been given an appointment to meet the Uganda Lands Commission, and Ministry of Health Officials, among other stakeholders, in Kampala on April 17.

The development comes a day after hospital staff demonstrated, paralysing work that momentarily left some patients unattended to, with priority being given to emergency cases and expectant mothers.

Earlier, the Muslim community cleared the land, started constructing a perimeter fence around it, and held Eid prayers on it last week to reinforce their hold on it.

Jinja Regional Referral Hospital director Dr Alfred Yayi said the strike was triggered by alleged “silence” by the top leadership and security of Jinja City despite reportedly being aware of the issues surrounding the land.

“We have been invited to Kampala for a meeting with the Uganda Lands Commission, Ministry of Health and UMSC to handle the matter,” Dr Yayi added.

District Khadi Sheikh Ismail Adi Basoga declined to comment on the matter, saying the meeting scheduled in Kampala will determine the next course of action.

“I cannot comment on a decision that has been taken by the Jinja city security committee,” Sheikh Basoga said in a brief telephone interview.

Background

Last month, residents protested against the decision by Lands State Minister Sam Mayanja to allocate the contested land to Muslims.

Mayanja, during a visit to the contested site last month, decreed that the land belongs to Muslims “because all constitutions since 1900 clearly state so”.

He further directed that no land board has authority to give away land that belongs to an individual or authority like UMSC, and ordered the cancellation of all illegal titles on the Muslim land citing Section 91 of the Commission Land Registration Act.