Luweero locals claim departed Asians property

Luweero. The ongoing validation and verification exercise for all properties belonging to departed Asians in Luweero District has drawn mixed reactions from the current occupants.
The validation exercise, which is being conducted by the ministry of Finance, is ongoing countrywide and kicked off early this week in the district.
However, some residents claimed to have bought the properties while others said the verification exercise could be a ploy to evict them.
Mr Sulaiman Abdul Kerim, a resident of Mpakawero Zone in Bombo Town Council, said the house he occupies belonged to the departed Asians but he bought it from a government official in 1977 and that he is surprised to see the property now listed for validation.
“The timing of the exercise is suspicious because we are living in an era where property grabbing is not news to many of us. I have never received any notification regarding this property,” Mr Kerim said on Wednesday.
Mr Manzil Abdallah Fadul, another resident of Bombo Town Council, claimed ownership of the house that has been listed for verification.
He said he has since demolished the dilapidated building that belonged to the departed Asians and constructed a modern residential one.
However, the Deputy Resident District Commissioner, Ms Miriam Mugisha, called for calm and urged all occupants of the properties to comply with the government directive on verification.
“The information circulating about the verification exercise should not be misinterpreted by people with selfish motives. We have already met the leaders where the listed properties are located and sensitised them about the exercise,” she said.

Most affected
Luweero District has 38 properties listed as belonging to Asians expelled from Uganda under the Idi Amin regime in the early 1970s. Bombo Town Council tops the list with 34 properties. Some of the prime properties include those occupied by Bombo Town Council and Bombo Common Primary School.
The Deputy Chief Administrative Officer, Mr William Makune, said government cannot disorganise its own institutions by evicting them from the properties.
“We are calling for calm. Our people should not act on rumours and misinformation because one of the schools mentioned now possesses a land title for the plot it occupies,” he said.