The Family of Mzee Blasio Bamuturaki of Ibarya Cell (Village), Kihanda Sub County, Kanungu District have called upon President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni to intervene in the matter where they allege that some government officials are coniving with other individuals to grab their family land.
These accuse, two Resident District Commissioners (RDCs) are on spot for allegedly depriving being behind the move of grabbing 70.2 acre land which formerly belonged to their late Father.
Hajj Shafik Sekandi and Amanyire Ambrose Mwesigye are accused of orchestrating and colluding with a section of family members and dealers to forcefully take over their land which they claim to be full of minerals.
It Is alleged that the land in question at Ibarya Cell (Village) was previously owned by Mzee Blasio Bamuturaki and his wife Joy Evelyn Kyabasasaki who lived on it from the 1950s till their deaths in 1994 and 2004 respectively.
Family members say that upon the death of Kyabasasaki, Hajji Sekandi then RDC hatched a plan and colluded with a family member, Ms Anna Kyahamutima to force out other family members from the land.
It is alleged that before his transfer from Kanungu District, RDC Sekandi linked the land grab deal to high profile officials in government.
Hajj Sekandi, who has since been transferred to Kisoro District, was replaced by Mr Mwesigye, whom they claim to be leading the struggle to dispossess the family of their interest in their estate.
Ambrose Mwesige jointly with his deputy Rugajju, Giso are accused of organizing the ongoing destruction of the family property to include a house and the plantation.
Christine Joy Tumusiime, a family member revealed that the cartel was big to include some leaders at Local Government level, up to the district level.
The dispute that forced me to flee my mother land, Uganda started in 2004 after the death of our mother, my sister (Anna) took possession of the family property and took control. The RDC then did a report and it is from then that they started targeting destroying the plantations on the land and bringing many people to cultivate on the land to defeat the interest of the rightful beneficiary,” says a tearfully speaking Tumusiime.
Out of fear, in 2023, Tumusiime fled the country and settled in the United Kingdom where she currently resides for the safety of her life.
While recounting the mysterious deaths of her brothers and sisters on the land, Tumusiime, 56, also revealed that grabbers used her sister on the frontline to torture her and the relatives. She alleges that RDC Mwesige with the the then RDC and his Deputy, vainly colluded to arrest her from Mbarara Administrator General’s office while using police and military.
She has now appealed to President Museveni to intervene and cause investigation into RDC Mwesigye and others with the grabbers who are using a motor vehicle owned by a project by the World Bank.
Tumusiime alleges that in December 2023, RDC Mwesigye and policeman Zaviour Nishaba and other Police officers led a that arrested some of her workers on top displacing some of the animals and livestock on her farm.
She also pointed out , that because of this land , she has under went a lot suffering with her tormentors having it in mind that she will give up, but being her ancestral , she vowed to fight until the end.
Tumusiime also revealed that she has petitioned several offices in security and under other legally mandated bodies to have her matter addressed, but upto now she has never received any response.
Acused Parties Speak out:
When contacted on phone about the matter, Mwesigye confirmed having knowledge about the matter, but stated that his last involvement in this was in 2023 and he advised Tusiime to take the case to the Administrator General.
“But I think she (Tumusiime) is a very dishonest person because she came to my office in 2023 alleging that her sister, Kyahamutima was chasing her from land. I went there and I found when they had a conflict on their late father’s land and they did not have a title for it. It was with their brother,” Mwesigye stated.
He also said, that before forwarding the matter, the other sister in the matter, always cursed him on grounds that he always favored the rich (Nalongo Tusiime) which was not true.
“In that area there is a government project that is going to kick off any time and this project is the irrigation dam set to be constructed by the Ministry of Water and Environment.
“All affected persons affected were consulted in 2022, the land was valued in 2023, shared valuation report with all people including that woman, they consented and the family was paid one billion shillings. 500 Million shillings was deposited on Tusiime’s account and the balance was to deposited on her sister’s account.”
That all Compensated people had to vacate the compensated land by December 2024, however, since the project was not starting off immediately, people were given more time to use the compensated property on condition that they will vacate as soon as preparation of the project commences.
“The project was meant to start this month, Ministry of water people asked all those that had been compensated to vacate, all other people left voluntarily , but Christine’s family left their daughter called Christine who is ever insisting that she is still harvesting her crops, wherever she is asked on when she will be vacating, she says that she doesn’t know.”
He says that the project fully compensated Tusiime’s family for the houses that are going to be damaged during the project on top of paying compensation for the transfer of the graves in the family burrial grounds.
However Rugajju when contacted, denied having knowledge about the above allegations adding that he has never taken part in any matter involving land in Kihanda as he is being accused.
