Sango Bay Estate occupants  protest eviction

A section of residents in former Sango Bay Estate land in Kyotera District have sued the government over their pending eviction.

In October 2021, the government embarked on reclaiming the land measuring 247 square miles for oil palm growing.

The project is expected to create about 20,000 jobs for youth in Kyotera and Rakai districts.

The disputed land that covers sub-counties of Kabira, Kakuuto, Mayanja  Kyebe, Mutukula, and Kasensero had 10,000 residents, but government insists it only knows 300  bonafide occupants.

Residents, however, claim they have land titles, which has prompted them to petition Masaka High Court to stay  eviction until they are duly compensated.

Mr Simon Kalende, a lawyer of the residents, said they have filed a lawsuit against the Attorney General and the Prime Minister and have also applied for an injunction to stop the government from taking over the  land.

“ We filed a complaint against the Attorney General and Prime Minister and have asked the court to issue an injunction stopping the entire  process,” he said  in an interview last week.

Mr Julius Burore, the Masaka High Court Registrar, has given the Attorney General two weeks to file for response to the suit.

Mr Victor Ndayiro, one of the affected persons, said it was unfair for government to evict them without compensation.

“At the start of the eviction, we attempted to negotiate for relocation or due compensation from government, but this has yielded nothing which has informed our decision to run to court to seek redress ,” he said.

Mr Ndayiro added that after facing  resistance from locals, the government deployed both military and police personnel who are patrolling the area .

Mr George Bagire, a councillor representing Mayanja Sub-county, said they are challenging Ms Robinah Nabbanja’s directive that requires residents to  vacate without compensation .

“We have reliable information that government has maintained its earlier position of compensating only 300 residents who are said to be bonafide occupants of the 10,000 locals, something we don’t  agree with ,” he said.

Ms Nabbanja visited the area in April and  gave residents one month to vacate the estate.

Oil palm growing in Uganda is already taking place in the island districts of Kalangala and Buvuma.

Early  this year, State Minister for Lands Sam Mayanja visited Sango Bay and advised all squatters, including  Mr Faustino Murengyezi, who claims to own 20 square miles to voluntarily  vacate the estate .

“I am here to emphasize that Sango Bay Estate is government land earmarked to benefit the people of Kyotera. All titles on this land have been cancelled,” the minister said then. 

 about sango bay

The first attempt by the government to take over the land was in 2012, but residents resisted eviction.

Initially, the Sango Bay land was housing a sugar estate owned by the Sharad Patel family. It also has four central forest reserves; Malabigambo, Kaiso, Tero and Namalala, which cover 60 square miles, an airstrip and a wetland                (Ramsar site).

A big chunk of the land is currently being used by herders as grazing ground.

The government intends to use the land to expand the National Oil Palm Project (NOPP).

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