According to The Independent, the Land Investigations Committee appointed to establish the state of ownership of Uganda Railways Corporation (URC) land has complained about the extent of the land grabbing and encroachment on the Uganda Railways Land reserves.
The Land Investigations Committee is a six-member committee appointed by Gen Katumba Wamala, the Minister of Works. The government established this committee in December 2020 to show the boundaries of all the Uganda Railways’ land across the country and verify its ownership status.
The Land Investigations Committee was tasked to collect all documentation for any purported ownership by encroachers and sensitise residents encroached on the land. The committee’s role is to help the Uganda Railway take possession of encroached land and provide monthly investigation interim reports and the URC Land Status report to the minister within 60 days.
The Daily Monitor reported a statement issued by URC that the land would revamp railway transport in Uganda.
“The Government of Uganda, in line with national, regional objectives, has prioritized interventions towards revamping the railway transport sector. To support this initiative, URC must urgently put a stop to all illegal occupation, grabbing, and encroachment on its land countrywide to operate safely and efficiently in line with its statutory mandate,” the statement read in part.
While addressing journalists last week in Jinja, the committee chairperson, Mr. William Korotyo, said that they had already received reports of settlers who have constructed permanent houses and set up farms within the rail line and its surrounding land reserves, The Independent reported.
According to Korotyo, some encroachers have fraudulently gained land titles on the Railway Land and intentionally uprooted URC boundary Landmarks.
Mr. Kirotyo further said that a few of the settlers received temporary permits legally to enable them to cultivate quick maturing crops, such as beans and maize, within the reserves. Contrary to the terms of their contracts, the same people have instead planted eucalyptus farms, constructed public toilets, among other permanent projects. The contracts only allow for quick maturing crops since the settlers are bound to be evicted anytime.
Korotyo adds that to save the government from its frequent expenditures on annual road repairs because of the heavy cargo, the Ministry of Works has implemented a strategy of revamping rail transport to move freight. The strategy will relieve the highways of heavy trucks, which are the leading cause of collateral damage on Uganda’s roads.
According to the Independent, Mubarak Kirunda, the Jinja Central Division Chairperson, accused of illegally allocating rail land to encroachers, says, “URC had abandoned these reserves which had become bushy and hubs of criminal groups. Therefore, I allocated some rail reserves to the evicted mechanics.”
