UGANDA, Pallisa | Real Muloodi News | A 60-year-old widow and her family find themselves homeless after being forcefully evicted from their residence in Mutembei Cell, Pallisa Town Council, located in Pallisa District.
Ms Asanansi Kavambuga, the widow in question, and her family have been residing on the property since the 1980s, but they were ousted due to the location of their home on a road reserve.
The eviction, carried out by the town council leadership, has left Ms Kavambuga and her family stranded, with their household items destroyed in the process.
According to Ms Kavambuga, the eviction was instigated by pressure from Mr Outa Umar, a local developer, who had been attempting to coerce her into selling him the land to facilitate access to his commercial property.
“Mr. Outa had promised to compensate me with Shs7m, but he only paid Shs3m. He failed to give me the balance in 2020 and he later told me that he couldn’t add me money. Instead, he said he would use the town council to evict me, which he did,” Ms. Kavambuga revealed, expressing her ordeal.
She is a mother of eight children, adding to the complexity of the situation.
However, Mr. Outa denied involvement in the eviction, attributing the action solely to the town council. “It is the town council that demolished her houses. I don’t work in the council,” Mr. Outa asserted.
He further claimed that Ms Kavambuga had sold him the land, but subsequent information revealed it was a road reserve.
During the eviction, Ms. Kavambuga’s permanent houses were reportedly razed, exacerbating the loss.
“I was not home by the time the town council demolished my house. I received a call from well-wishers that the town council officials, without a court order, demolished my houses,” she recounted, highlighting the lack of legal recourse in the eviction process.
In addition to the destruction of property, Ms Kavambuga lamented the looting of her belongings, including clothes, iron sheets, food, and mattresses, leaving her and her family destitute.
Stranded without shelter, food, and clothes, Ms Kavambuga is seeking justice and compensation amounting to Shs80m from the town council.
In her pursuit of justice, Ms Kavambuga reported the incident to Pallisa Central Police Station, seeking recourse for malicious damage and forceful eviction.
However, she encountered further obstacles as the police declined to register her case, citing orders from higher authorities.
Responding to allegations of police collusion, the Bukedi North regional police spokesperson, SP Samuel Semeo, refuted the claims, asserting that the eviction was executed by law enforcement officers of Pallisa Town Council.
Meanwhile, legal experts, including Mr John Bosco Wabwire, raised concerns over the legality of the government’s acquisition of the land, citing constitutional provisions mandating prompt and adequate compensation for private land acquisition.
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