4,000 locals face eviction

More than 4,000 residents are at the risk of eviction from a five square mile public land at Lwabyata Sub-county, Nakasongola District.

The most affected areas are Kikooge, Katuba, Kalaala, Wangoma, Kikuuta, and Ndaiga.

Kikooge R/C Primary School and Kikooge Health Centre II have already suffered losses, with portions of their land fenced off and school gardens destroyed.

Mr Noor Ssenozi, the chairperson of Kikooge Village, identified the landlord as Mr Jotham Mafende, whom he accused of using armed guards to intimidate residents.

 “The landlord has fenced off gardens, demolished homes and is now evicting the government school and Health Centre II at Kikooge. We are surprised that the landlord is using guns to threaten the residents with impunity. We call upon the government officials to come to the rescue,” he said in an interview on Tuesday.

Mr Robert Kato Lugemwa, the chairperson of Kikooge R/C Primary School management committee, said parents are withdrawing their children from school out of safety concerns.

Mr Lugemwa said the school had an enrolment of more than 800 learners in 2023 and they have now reduced to 400.

“Some parents have already withdrawn their respective children in fear after the repeated shooting in the air by the armed security guards that have camped next to the school since May 2023,” he said.

Ms Mary Nabatanzi, a sub-county councillor Kikooge R/C Primary School, said the school, which was constructed in 1997, is the only government school in Kikooge Parish.

Mr David Maiso Bakoba, a farm owner, reported land encroachment, resulting in the loss of livestock and property.

Despite attempts to seek legal recourse, residents have faced challenges in processing their complaints.

“Mr Mafende sold to me 121 acres of land where we signed a purchase agreement through the area local council offices but has now taken over more than 50 acres of my land. His guards keep threatening my farm workers claiming that they have instructions to evict the people that resist eviction,” he said.

But Mr Sam Kigula, the Nakasongola District chairperson, said the district security committee has tried to summon Mr Mafende, but he is yet to appear at the district.

Mr Kigula called for rollout of the Land Fund to address the plight of residents.

“We are disturbed about what is happening at Kikooge Village and the threats of eviction that scares residents from undertaking their respective development projects. We now have a public school and health unit that are now under threat. We are now seeking the indulgence of the government since the landlord is adamant,” he said.

Efforts to speak to Mr Mafende were futile by press time, but a manager at his farm, Mr Moses Kalega, maintained that their boss possesses legal documentation supporting his ownership of the land. He asserts that those who fail to comply with negotiations will face eviction.

“These people are wasting their respective time. We shall forcefully evict them from that land because it has ownership. The school, health centre and the church encroached on our boss’s land,” he said.

District officials in Nakasongola claim that more than 80 percent of the residents are squatters on land owned by absentee landlords while many are on public land that is leased.