Suspected land grabbers target four govt schools

Leaders in Kayunga District say suspected land grabbers have claimed ownership of land at four government-aided schools.

The affected schools, according to the Kayunga chief administrative officer, Mr Abdul Batambuze, include; Ntimba Church of Uganda PS and Kiwenda Church of Uganda PS in Galilaya Sub-county, Busaana Senior Secondary School in Busaana Sub-county, and Ndeeba Secondary School in Kayunga Town Council.

All the affected schools are Church of Uganda-founded and have been in existence for more than 30 years.

Mr Batambaze said the ‘grabbers’ have notified the district and Mukono Diocese of being in possession of land titles.

“As a district, we are confused on what we can do because land claimants say the land belongs to them and they have titles. The Church, which claims to be the foundation body on the other hand doesn’t have the titles for the land,” Mr Batambuze noted.

The CAO said the development may see more than 3,000 learners relocated in case the land claimants “succeed in their mission”.

Mr Batambuze also accused Mukono Diocesan authorities of blocking efforts by the district to title the said land. He said the diocese instead wants the school’s land titles to be in the name of the Province of the Church of Uganda.

“We have abandoned the issue of protecting the affected schools because there is no way we can fight the grabbers when we don’t have land titles for the land,” he said.

A source in Busaana Sub-county, who preferred to speak anonymously, said Busaana Secondary School was started by the community with the sub-county authorities then imposing a fee of Shs500 to every graduated tax payer to start the school.

“When we started the school, we asked the clergy at the nearby Busaana Church of Uganda to help us teach religion to our learners. However, as years went by and the school grew, the bishop appointed a board of governors for the school claiming the school was theirs,” the source said.

Mr Andrew Muwonge, the chairperson of Kayunga, said he was studying the matter before he makes any intervention.

A source from the Kayunga District education department who preferred anonymity, said they are worried about the trend in which people claim land for public institutions.

“The problem is that many of the landlords who donated land to the learning institutions did not put it in writing. So, because the land has become very lucrative, the grandchildren of those who donated it want to sell it,” he said.

A claimant of Ndeeba Secondary School land, who did not want to be named so that he speaks freely, said his late grandfather Malachi Kalya, who donated the land to the school, left a Will stating that he did not donate it to Mukono Diocese.

The education secretary of Mukono Diocesan, Rev Geoffrey Kagoya, said he was aware of the problem, adding that they are trying to obtain land titles.

“That land is ours, but the problem is that we are finding it difficult to find the rightful administrators of landlord’s estates who donated land to the Church,” Rev Kagoya said.

The development comes at a time when different people have claimed land on which public institutions such as Kayunga Town Council, Kayunga Regional Referral Hospital, Busaana Prison, and Busaana Health Centre III  sit.

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