UGANDA, Hoima | Real Muloodi News | On Sunday 12th February 2023, more than 500 families were evicted from their ancestral land in Hoima. The Minister for Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Judith Nabakooba, has since intervened in the land dispute.
The affected families are cultivators and pastoralists from the villages of Waaki North, Kapapi Central, Waaki South, and Kiryatete in the Kapapi and Kiganja sub-counties in Hoima.
The families have been feuding over a piece of land measuring approximately 925 hectares with Moses Asiimwe, a tycoon in Hoima City.
The residents claim that they are being evicted from land that they have lived on for decades and accuse Asiimwe of conniving with security personnel to take over the land without following the due process of law.
During the eviction, the police and private security guards set more than 50 homes ablaze, and animals, including cows and goats, were looted.
To address the matter, Minister Nabakooba wrote a letter dated February 15, 2023, to the Head of the Statehouse Anti-corruption unit and the Director Criminal investigations Department of Uganda Police, indicating her intention to visit Hoima District on February 22, 2023.
Her locus visits to various places were intended to listen to the concerns of the people.
David Karubanga, the Kigorobya County Member of Parliament, reveals that the minister’s intervention follows several petitions filed to her office by him and the affected residents.
Annet Kirabo, one of the evicted residents, explains that they are still not allowed to access their land, and William Okech, another resident, is calling for Nabakooba to intervene immediately and have them returned to their land.
The authorities in Hoima demanded the unconditional release of more than ten people who were arrested during the eviction.
The men who opposed the eviction were picked up by security personnel, and their whereabouts are unknown to date. Those picked up include Sam Kataza, Eriya Mulega, Stephen Karongo, Stephen Rangira, Moses Muzora, Fred Kashilingi, John Muvenge, Enoch Kamugisha, Edward Karongo, and Benon Kansime, among others.
In the letter, Nabakooba instructed the Head of the Statehouse Anti-corruption unit and the Director Criminal investigations Department of Uganda Police to forward officers from each of their respective departments to be part of the team for that day without fail.
The RDC, who was also in copy herein, was to attend with all members of the District Security Committee.
The intervention by Minister Nabakooba shows her commitment to addressing the issue and finding a lasting solution to the land dispute in Hoima District.
The affected families hope that her intervention will bring them relief and justice.
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