A joint image of a house marked with X for demolition and a garden that was razed down by KCCA during the eviction.

By witnessradio.org Team

On Thursday at 7 am, December, 3rd  2020 a group of 15 armed policemen cladding anti-riot uniforms together with several staff members of Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) raided Kawaala Zone II village, ordered hundreds of residents to vacate their properties after issuing eviction notices without any prior notice or consultations.

KCCA is established by an Act of Parliament, KCCA Act, 2010, which mandates it to provide the governance and administrative framework for Kampala, enhance infrastructure and institutional capacity of Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) and improve urban mobility for inclusive economic growth.

On a fateful day, KCCA staff under the protection of the anti-riot police moved to Kawaala and earmarked their property for demolition by affixing the letter X.

Ndola Simon, not real name due to fear of retaliation is one of the project affected community member remembers that KCCA raided their village at a time he was at his home preparing to go to the garden.

After receiving the shocking news from one of his neighbors, he rushed to where the KCCA team had reached to witness what was happening, only to find KCCA was issuing eviction notices in English to all village members with an ultimatum of 28 days.

“When I reached there, I asked them (KCCA) why they were doing it but they threatened to arrest me if I interrupted with their plans. I think these people had planned a land grab, they did not know which people to issue the notices to. They would just ask who you are, write the names on the notices and then serve you,” he said.

Witness Radio – Uganda’s findings reveal that the eviction notice was issued “under the section72 (1) of the Public Health Act cap 281 which states that, in the event of contravention of any of the public health rules related to the erection of buildings, the local authority, without prejudice has the right to take proceedings for a fine in respect of the contravention and may by notice require the owner either to pull down or remove the works” according to one of the Witness Radio – Uganda’s legal officers, Ms. Joan Buryelari.

She further explained that the eviction notice stopped community members from carrying out any activity on the land and putting down their structures before the elapsing of 28 days.

Ndola said he’s a bonafide occupant who inherited the property from his parents who lawfully lived and cultivated their land as early as the 1930s.

Barely two days after the issuance of an eviction notice, KCCA, under the protection of armed police proceeded to evict the residents from their land to pave way for the expansion and construction of the Lubigi drainage channel.

And, Ndola is one of those whose pieces of land were taken. The 50-year-old and a father of 8 said, confirmed that none of the residents were aware of the reasons behind the December 3rd eviction until Witness Radio – Uganda lawyers informed them that KCCA is using the World Bank funding to grab their land and construct a drainage channel.

He revealed that he was one of the victims of the Kampala Institutional and Infrastructure Development Project (KIIDP) phase 1 when KCCA diverted the channel from its originality into his property, which caused flooding and destroyed his properties.

“When we raised the alarm to KCCA administration during the first phase (KIIDP I) about the damage their project was causing to us, they instead offered to give us inconvenience fees and promised that KCCA will compensate us for other damages upon the resumption of the second phase (KIIDP 2), which they have been waiting to come but, see how they are stealing from the people they are supposed to serve…” said Ndola.

He further said that both projects have worsened his life, grabbed his land, and destroyed food crops including beans, cassava, coffee, maize, potatoes, bananas, and yams without compensation.

Following the interventions from Witness Radio – Uganda and their partners, which took the project affected people’s concerns to the court and before the World Bank, KCCA instead moved to undertake a forceful survey.

“The unidentified surveyors upon coming to my land told me that they were not interested in measuring my entire land. They used uncoordinated methods and moved away. From the onset, I refused to accept the outcome of their exercise and since we do not have a committee to address my grievances, I decided to work with our lawyers to stop such illegalities” narrated Ndola.

He further expressed his happiness about the successful filing of the complaint by Witness Radio – Uganda with help from Accountability Counsel to the World Bank’s Inspection Panel, which he said has put KCCA under the spotlight to account for its wrongdoing.

“We want the World Bank’s Inspection Panel to ensure that we’re fully included in the implementation of the project, fairly compensated and resettled” he stated.