Man hacked to death as Nakasongola land dispute turns bloody
Deceased: Dan Ssebyala displays cartridges on February 27, 2024 after armed security guards attacked his home over a land dispute. He was killed a few days after. PHOTO | DAN WANDERA
What you need to know:
- In 2023, the deceased had what he believed to be his 4-acre land fenced off in a yet to be resolved land dispute.
Tensions are high in Lwabyata Sub-county after the gruesome murder of a Kibanja holder earlier attacked by private security guards deployed on a disputed 5 square mile land in Nakasongola District.
The newly heightened tensions follow the murder of Ndaiga Village resident Dan Ssebyala by unknown machete wielding men. This was shortly after one of the managers on the disputed land reportedly cautioned him against continued cultivation of the land.
Nakasongola District LC5 Chairperson Sam Kigula told Monitor that police and other security agencies have now deployed to avert ongoing mobilization by residents.
“It is sad that the land dispute is turning bloody. The higher offices in the country should interest themselves in this particular land dispute. We have lost one of the Kibanja holders in a suspicious manner,” he observed.
“The residents are mobilizing to avenge his death. We are not sure about the next step if the problem is not resolved,” Kigula noted.
Family sources suggest that Ssebyala was waylaid by machete wielding men as he returned home at 9pm.
Family sources also told the district security team that Ssebyala had earlier on his ill-fated day been confronted by a man only identified as Gideon, a manager at Jotham Mafende’s farm.
“Gideon told our father to stop slashing the garden. He warned him and asked him to be careful with his life,” a 12-year-old child that reportedly witnessed the verbal attack against his father Monday morning told investigators.
Last week, Ssebyala exhibited used cartridges abandoned by private security guards who allegedly attacked his home to enforce an eviction.
The security guards had reportedly been deployed by Mafende, an apparent landlord at the center of the disputed land with an estimated 4,000 residents from six villages at Lwabyata Subcounty.
On Tuesday, Nakasongola RCD Saleh Kamba confirmed the grim developments in Ndaiga Village but called on residents to remain calm as security officials handle the matter and investigations.
On March 2, the Nakasongola District security committee disarmed private security guards deployed by Mafende and ordered arrest of all workers at his farm for defying a directive to register with their respective local council offices.
In 2023, the deceased had what he believed to be his 4-acre land fenced off in a yet to be resolved land dispute.
