One shot as Rakai land wrangles intensify

A police officer attached to Rakai Police Station tries to calm down residents of Kyakago village who were rioting as they opposed being evicted from land they claim to be theirs. PHOTO | AMBROSE MUSASIZI

What you need to know:

  • According to Mr Twaha Sseruyima, the area LCI Chairperson, it started when a few residents mistook the casual labourers to be thieves intending to steal their food in the gardens hence raising an alarm to chase them away.

At least one resident at Kyakago village in Kibanda Sub County, Rakai District has been injured with a stray bullet after police tried to disperse angry residents who had attacked casual labourers employed to carry out a land boundary opening.

The injured resident identified as Edward Kivumbi, a resident of the same area is currently admitted at Rakai General Hospital.

According to Mr Twaha Sseruyima, the area LCI Chairperson, it started when a few residents mistook the casual labourers to be thieves intending to steal their food in the gardens hence raising an alarm to chase them away.

“Residents thought they were chasing away thieves but on reaching the scene, they were shocked to find people who were armed with arrows as they planted poles with barbed wires. This prompted the residents to ask the labourers why they decided to work at night if they were really genuine,” he explained.

The land in question is a 600-acre piece owned by Captain Godfrey Karambizi, a UPDF serving officer. It is situated in Kyakago and Kaseese villages in Kibanda Sub County.

Mr Jawadu Kasiita the former Chairperson of Kyakago village said it’s so terrifying that a UPDF soldier is getting involved in evicting almost 10,000 people whom they say they are protecting.

“The whole of this problem stems from a UPDF soldier who identified himself as Godfrey Karambizi. He decided to use Police and the army to intimidate us so that they would evict us. They have now gone further to plant boundaries in our plantations hence stopping us from accessing our land,” he said.

Mr Kasiita said this problem can only be settled by President Museveni because the authorities on the ground have totally failed to handle it.

He further says that the casual laborers working for the Captain are armed with arrows which they have on many occasions pointed at residents whenever they attempt to inquire why they are trespassing on their land.

Mr Charles Mubiru, the Resident District Commissioner (RDC) told Daily Monitor that he had received reports about a scuffle but had not yet gotten the full details.

He explained that these wrangles have been in existence since January this year but security is following up closely.

“As security, our role is to keep both sides in harmony and we pledge to fulfill our role. We don’t want anyone to lose his/her life recklessly because our duty is to protect them,” he said.

About the casual labourers who use arrows to scare away the residents, Mr Mubiru said that is an awkward act which he didn’t know about and promised to disarm the laborers as soon as possible.

When this reporter contacted Mr Karambizi about this land issue, he said: “I don’t have any intentions of evicting people on the land apart from opening my boundaries. I lawfully acquired the piece of land from three residents namely; Mr Emmanuel Gakwandi, Mr Erias Ndawula, and Mr Fred Kazungu who are residents of the same area.”