By Witness Radio team
Kiryandongo – Uganda. Security guards attached to Magnum Limited, a private security company employed by Somdiam Limited, have shot dead a son of a community land rights defender in Kiryandongo district and critically injured his second son, currently admitted in the hospital. Somdiam Limited, is owned by an Indian investor.
Somdiam contracted Magnum Limited in October 2023 to carry out illegal evictions in the villages such as Nyamuntende, Kikungulu, and Ndoi in the Kiryandongo sub-county in Kiryandongo district without a court order.
The same security company has a record of being hired and carryout in illegal land evictions and guarding grabbed lands. It is on record that Magnum security carried out another violent land eviction involving over 2500 locals in Kapapi in Hoima district to give way to the East African Crude Oil Pipeline Project (EACOP).
Since 2020, Somdiam has been grabbing land for over 809.3700 hectares that have been lawfully occupied and cultivated by over 3000 locals. In the early 2000s, the locals applied for a freehold title, and eventually granted by the government.
According to records seen by Witness Radio, Somdiam Company was established in 2011 in Uganda and owned by two Indian nationals Mr. Dhedhi Himatbhai and Mrs. Dhedhi Hansaben Himatbhai.
One of its lawyers includes the former attorney general in the current Kampala government Mr. Mwesigwa Rukutana.
The company has branches in Rwanda, Tanzania, Madagascar, and the United Arab Emirates – Dubai primarily deals in importing various food commodities, including rice, sugar, vegetable cooking oil, biscuits, salt, tomato paste, powdered milk, pasta, and spaghetti, among others.
According to investigations by Witness Radio team, the killing happened on November 25th, 2023.
Kato Geoffrey, aged 20, one of the sons of Kaliisa Joseph, was shot in his back at 5:30 pm and passed away at the gate of Kiryandongo Hospital while being rushed for treatment. Another victim, Rugazu Steven, was shot in the thigh and is currently receiving treatment at Bweyale General Clinic.
Eyewitness accounts detail that the distressing events unfolded in Kisalanda Village, Kiryandongo district, when 10 Somdiam armed personnel, guarding Somdiam on orders of Isaac Balute, Somdiam Company manager, raided the residence of a community land rights defender, Kaliisa Joseph at Kisalanda with the intent of forcibly evicting him from his property in vain.
Joseph Kaliisa, a community land rights in the Kiryandongo district, has been actively engaged in mobilizing his community of more than 3000 residents to push back Somdiam Company’s illegal land eviction in Nyamuntende, Ndoi, and Kikungulu, all villages in the Kiryandondongo district.
In addition, when the defender refused to give up on his land, the armed guards’ personnel proceeded to loot his livestock but found strong resistance from Kaliisa’s family members who were grazing the cattle. In the scuffle, the guards opened fire and killed Kato and injured Rugazu.
“These armed company guards have repeatedly patrolled my home and livestock enclosure, aiming to loot them. They have already displaced most of our community members in Ndoi, Kikukungulu, and Nyamuntende, alleging that we have no rightful claim to this land despite us being its rightful owners. When they tried to evict me on Saturday, I stood my ground, asserting that I wouldn’t be displaced. Their response was to loot my grazing cows,” recounted the Kaliisa.
He added that the investor and its agents are revenging because of his work to resist an illegal eviction.
Somdiam company manager, Mr. Balute Isaac, confirmed that cattle keepers were grazing on the company’s land.
“It’s true that our guards were impounding their cattle because they had grazed in our plantations. Initially, this process was peaceful. However, the cattle keepers resisted and attacked our guards. In self-defense, two individuals were shot,” Mr. Balute disclosed to Witness Radio.
