Panga-wielding assailants hack Mukono church leaders

Police in Naggalama in Mukono Municipality are investigating circumstances under which Church of Uganda leaders in the area were attacked and hacked by panga-wielding assailants.

ASP Ron Muhofa, the Officer in Charge of Naggalama Police Station identified the victims as Samuel Kamuze and Herbert Mwene, religious leaders who belong to Glovers Wilcox School Mission in Nakanyonyi Mukono. These are receiving treatment at Naggalama Hospital.

"The victims were on Thursday attacked at their premises by unknown assailants who first caned them and then used sharp objects (pangas) to injure their bodies. Police tried to search for the assailants but they had taken off," he said.

It is reported that the attack is a result of land wrangles between church leaders in Mukono and the squatters on the church land. Following the incident, other church leaders demolished the houses that had been illegally constructed on the church land.

The Bishop of Mukono Diocese Rev. Enos Kitto Kagodo said church leaders are living in fear after the assailants injured two of their own.

"This land wrangle may result in death to either party because the religious leaders are also now tough, if you attack them what do you expect," Bishop said.

Although residents claim they have settled on the land for more than 30 years, the Church insists it legally owns the 400-acre piece of land and wants to develop it.

Background

Retired Mukono Bishop James William Ssebaggala said this particular piece of land was donated to the Church by the late Ham Mukasa in 1921 and it was later donated to Bishop Tucker Theological College.

Bishop Tucker was later renamed Uganda Christian University-Mukono. Bishop Ssebaggala insists that some of the tenants who occupied the land were fully compensated, but have adamantly ignored the law and continued to build houses on the land.

Since 2017, residents and church have been battling for this land and Church of Uganda legal officer, Mr Edward Musoke, said they want the squatters to vacate the land because the Church wants to use it to establish a conference centre, a modern school for the deaf and demonstration farm.

He said although they secured a court injunction stopping any further developments on the land, they are surprised that the squatters are still carrying on with farming and construction of new houses on the said land.

“In the early years, the Church leaders thought these were good people who simply wanted some land to grow food crops, and expected them to leave after some time, but many have over the years, put up permanent structures,” Mr Musoke said.

Being one of the biggest landlords in the country, the Church of Uganda is currently battling many illegal settlers on its vast land in different parts of the country.

A few years ago the angry tenants attempted to harm a delegation of 35 bishops led by Archbishop Stanley Ntagali as they inspected another piece of land in Ntawo Village in Mukono Town. After the inspection of the land ended, a group of people who were meeting at a nearby bar, confronted the prelates, hurled insults at them and threatened to lynch them.

The mob brought match boxes and dry grass and threatened to set a bus which had transported the bishops to the site, on fire. Police swiftly intervened and dispersed the mob.

This particular piece of land is currently being developed by Uganda Christian University, an institution of the Church. It is currently being occupied by more than 800 tenants.