Night gangs exhume bodies over land row

Police in Wakiso District are investigating unknown gangs who descended on graves and exhumed four bodies.

The incident happened last Friday night at Bukondo Village, Namayumba Sub-county in Wakiso District on a five-acre piece of land belonging to Mr Jude Ssebaggala.

According to the family members, their brother,  who works in Juba in South Sudan bought the piece of land in 2010 from Ms Dazy Nassiwa, who was the administrator of the land of her aunt, the late Anna Nazibanja.

The land has been a burial ground.

Mr Lawrence Kigozi, who led the family members to tour the contested land, said they had a land title they received from the administrator upon buying the land and they were still looking for money to make a transfer from Nazibanja’s name.

“We have been looking for money to work on the transfer. But we have learnt that again Ms Nassiwa connived with other people and sold the land again,” he said on Monday.

He told this publication that due to financial reasons, the administrator betrayed them and now the land is under Mr Maxwell Katumba, who allegedly bought it from Mr Francis Karuzandaalo, and the latter persuaded Ms Nassiwa to make a special title in her name.

“After changing the land title into her names, she now worked with Karuzandaalo and got the names changed again into his name. It is now him who sold the land to Katumba who is the new landlord,” he explained.

Mr Kigozi asked the Lands ministry to intervene in their issue because the whereabouts of the remains of their people is not known. 

When Mr Katumba was contacted, he denied having a hand in exhuming the bodies.

“I bought the land at Shs115 million and I have so far paid Shs81 million. I am not the one who exhumed the bodies. It is the person whom I got the land from.  He was supposed to fight all his battles and thereafter give me a clean land,” he said on Tuesday, but refused to disclose the name of the person he acquired the land from.

Mr Frank Wampamba, a brother of Nassiwa, confessed that they sold the land as a family to Ssebaggala, but he is wondering how his sister ended up reselling the land to another person.

“We agreed that they work on the land title and change the names at their expense, but things changed,” he said.

Mr Moses Kibalama, the vice chairperson of Bukondo Village, condemned the act saying they were not informed about exhuming bodies.

Two male suspects have been arrested and are currently detained at Namayumba Police Station over allegations of performing the exercise.