UGANDA, Sembabule | Real Muloodi News | Leaders in Sembabule District have initiated opening boundaries on a 200-acre piece of land donated by President Yoweri Museveni to the Lutunku community in Kawanda Sub-county. This measure aims to protect the land from alleged encroachment by unscrupulous individuals.
A district probe committee’s findings in July 2023 indicated that some individuals had allegedly grabbed parts of the land where they had previously settled as tenants.
Some had even begun constructing permanent buildings on it. Mr Faisal Sseruwagi, the deputy resident district commissioner of Sembabule, noted that many individuals using part of the land for crop cultivation have since been evicted.
“There were some farmers using the land after the management of the polytechnic hired part of it to them. We advised the administration not to allow this practice anymore, and by the time we began the boundary opening, only a few still had gardens on the land. They were asked to harvest their crops this season and leave,” Sseruwagi said during an interview last week.
The district has secured Shs9 billion to erect new Business Technical Vocational Education and Training (BTVET) facilities, laboratories, and dormitories on part of the land.
“We want this project to start when the land is free of encroachers, and we are working towards that,” Sseruwagi added.
Ms Annet Kyalimpa, a councillor representing Kawanda Sub-county, supported the boundary opening initiative.
“The previous administration of the institute made a mistake by leasing the land to some people who had started using it. The boundary opening exercise will help save that land, which was on the verge of being stolen,” Kyalimpa said.
Background
Records at the district show that President Museveni purchased the land in 1997 from Mr. Faustine Ntambara and donated it to the community of Lutunku in Kawanda Sub-county, Sembabule District.
The land is on Block 176, Plot 4, 6, and 46 in Lutunku Parish and Block 83, Plot 23 in Sembabule Town Council. Lutunku Community Polytechnic, a technical institute, and Kaguta Primary School were later constructed on this land.
The boundary opening initiative is crucial to ensuring the land remains secure and free from encroachers, facilitating the planned development projects and maintaining the integrity of the land donated to the community.
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