UGANDA, Mbale | Real Muloodi News | A dispute has arisen between Mbale City Industrial Division police and Mbale District Local Government over land in Malukhu.
The half-acre plot of land at the centre of the dispute is opposite the old Mbale District offices near Inzu ya Masaba Cultural Institution in Malukhu Ward in the Mbale City Industrial division.
According to Rogers Taitika, the Elgon Region Police Spokesperson, the police want to evict all people who have occupied the land and reclaim it since they have the titles.
He stated that local administration Police personnel who stayed and operated on the land from the 1980s were integrated into Uganda Police in 2003 and left everything, including buildings.
“It is surprising to see that people have occupied the land and engaged in agricultural activities while occupying the structures left behind by the police,” he said.
However, he notes that it is only since Mbale District Local Government received information that the police want to displace the illegal squatters that it has now come forward to claim ownership of the land, which he says is absurd.
Conversely, Mbale District Communication Officer, Tom Musungu, asserts that the land belongs to the Mbale District Local Government since they have the titles.
According to Musungu, the district only gave the land to the local administration police to conduct security work and assist its officers in collecting graduated tax some 20 years ago in the past.
The Mbale District LC V Vice Chairperson, Toney Wamakale, supports the district’s ownership claims, stating that the Uganda Police Force cannot claim ownership of the disputed land since it was only given to them for their past operations.
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