UGANDA, Serere | Real Muloodi News | A land dispute between Serere District Local Government and Moses Omiat over a 150-acre piece of land at Kasilo Village, Kamod Parish, Bugondo Sub-County, Serere District, has reached a stalemate even after a court ruling.
In June last year, the Soroti High Court ruled that the land belongs to Mr Omiat, the customary owner.
However, the district leadership has allegedly refused to allow him to evict the squatters on the land to put it to full use.
Lawyers from Kania & Alli Advocates & Solicitors, who represent Mr Omiat, have warned leaders in Serere District against interfering in the court matter.
In a press statement, the lawyers accused the Serere District LCV chairperson, Stephen Ochola, and the deputy Resident District Commissioner (RDC), Ivan Namoma, of spreading harmful information about the concluded land case.
The statement also accused the LCV chairperson of making unsubstantiated allegations that the judge was unfair and biased in arriving at his judgement.
In March this year, Soroti High Court dismissed an application by the district that had sought to stay the execution of the earlier decision of the court that held that Mr Omiat is the customary owner of the contested land and can now evict the squatters on the land.
Despite this, the district leadership continues to deny Mr Omiat access to the land and trespasses on it.
Mr Omiat’s lawyers have written a petition to the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr Martins Okoth-Ochola, to intervene in the matter.
They have requested the police officers at Serere Police Station and East Kyoga regional police headquarters to intervene by arresting and putting in motion criminal proceedings against the individuals on Mr Omiat’s land who are preventing him from exercising his right to quiet possession of the land.
Mr Omiat avers that despite writing to the IGP last Thursday 4th May 2023, a group of thugs descended on his land, cut trees thereon and also attempted to move the ancestral graves away.
He claims that the police watched on as the thugs destroyed his property.
Mr Omiat has registered a case of criminal trespass and threatening violence before Kamod Police Station.
Efforts to reach out to Mr Ambrose Etok, the officer-in-charge of Kamod Police Post and IGP Ochola, were futile.
During the ruling last year, the presiding judge, Justice Henry Adonyo, fined Serere District Local Government USh320m in legal costs for the destruction of trees on the contested piece of land.
Despite this, the district leadership continues to deny Mr Omiat access to the land.
Mr Ochola, the Serere District LCV chairperson, said the district has lodged an appeal against the High Court judgment and is waiting for the outcome.
He stated that courts of law are not always right and that some judgments can be overturned by a higher court.
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