MEDIA FOR CHANGE NETWORK

Mubende evictees yet to get own homes 10 years later

Published

6 years ago

August 12, 2020

Ms Shantel Tumubone, one of the displaced residents, shows the portion of land where she buried her husband on Thursday. PHOTO/ JOSEPHINE NNABBAALE

When New Forest Company evicted Ms Shantel Tumubone, 50, and her family from their ancestral home in Kyamukasa Village, Kitumbi Sub-county, Kassanda District, they promised to compensate them to enable them find alternative land for settlement.

Ms Tumubone says she moved to nearby villages, looking for land in anticipation of receiving compensation.

However, 10 years later, Ms Tumubone’s family is still waiting for the compensation. She is among the 500 households who are homeless after they were evicted from land measuring 501 acres to pave way for a pine tree project.

The affected households were evicted from the villages of Kyamukasa, Mpologoma, Kanamire, Kiccucula, Kyato, Buseregenyu and Kigumya.

Their land was taken over by New Forest Company, which has since planted pine trees on it.
According to Ms Tumubone, following the eviction, her husband managed to get casual employment on a farm in Kabweyakiza Village.

“But two years later, my husband Marvin Bulugi fell ill and died because we could not afford his medical bills having lost everything during the eviction,” she says.

“The owner of the farm asked me to pay Shs1 million for the portion of land to bury my husband and since I had no cash, we resolved that I do causal work for eight months to cover the debt,” she adds.
Ms Pauline Nyesigire, another evictee, says during the eviction, she lost contact with her parents and ended up doing odd jobs on farms in Mubende District.

“At the age of 10, I tried to do casual labour at people’s farms, but it was too tedious and the payment was too little. I was forced into an early marriage at 12 years hoping for a better future but hardly two years into marriage with a six-month-old baby, I lost my husband,” she says.

Mr Sulait Behangana, who is also among the affected residents, says prior to the eviction, he owned more than 15 acres of land where he planted coffee, banana and sugar cane plantations.

“I have been reduced to a pauper; I have to dig in other people’s plantations to get what to eat,” he says.
Mr Julius Ndagize, the chairperson of the displaced households, says several mediation meetings with managers of New Forest Company have not borne fruit. “We secured 500 acres of land in Kampindu Village, Kitumbi Sub-county, where to resettle those people. Of the 901 affected families, 453 were allocated pieces of land and resettled. However, 448 families haven’t been compensated to date,” he says.

Mr Alex Kyabawampi, the senior corporate social responsibility programme manager at New Forest Company, says they struck an understanding with the affected households to establish a legally registered cooperative society with about 900 members, which they have done.

“Since the agreement was signed, the cooperative has purchased 500 acres of land in the vicinity of the Namwasa Central Forest Reserve with 100 acres earmarked for resettlement of households and 400 acres for agricultural projects. Homes are being built and agricultural projects have started with the planting of bananas, coffee, maize, cassava and beans,” he says.

Mr Kyabawampi adds that they are also considering providing safe and clean water and income generating projects to the affected households.

Source: Daily Monitor

Related Topics:#mubendelandgrab Land grabbing in Mubende Land in Mubende mubende evictions

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MEDIA FOR CHANGE NETWORK

Mpigi Land Committee Seeks Cancellation Of Titles On Buyala Waste Site

Published

8 hours ago

September 21, 2026

witnessradio.org

The Mpigi District Land Committee has recommended the cancellation of three land titles issued on a 230-acre piece of land in Buyala, which the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) had acquired for waste disposal.

The committee’s recommendation follows investigations indicating that the disputed land formed part of the Buvuma Forest Central Reserve, which was reportedly gazetted as a forest reserve in 1945.

The investigation found that three titles were issued to private individuals in 2015 by officials of the Mpigi District Land Board.

The individuals later reportedly sold the land to another buyer in 2025, who subsequently sold it to KCCA for use as a waste disposal site.

Charles Tomusange Ssebuggwawo, the chairperson of the Mpigi District Land Committee, said the committee had written to the Commissioner for Land Registration at the Ministry of Lands seeking clarification and action on the titles.

“We have written to the Commissioner for Land Registration regarding the land in Buyala and the titles that were issued on it,” Ssebuggwawo said.

KCCA acquired the land as it searched for an alternative waste disposal site following the collapse of the Kiteezi landfill in July 2024.

The disaster occurred when a massive garbage heap collapsed and swept into neighbouring homes, killing more than 30 people.

However, the proposed use of the Buyala land was halted by President Museveni, who raised concerns about disposing of garbage near Namwabula village in Nsujjumpolwe Parish, Kiringente Sub-county, where the government is developing a major fuel storage facility.

The proposed facility is expected to have a storage capacity of about 320 million litres, making it one of the largest fuel storage facilities in Uganda.

The land dispute comes as KCCA continues efforts to secure a permanent alternative to Kiteezi landfill, whose collapse heightened concerns over waste management and public safety in the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area.

MEDIA FOR CHANGE NETWORK

How land divisions are fueling Wakiso’s slums

Published

17 hours ago

September 21, 2026

witnessradio.org

The rapid transformation of Wakiso District from a largely rural setting to an urban extension of Kampala City has caused an emergence and expansion of informal settlements.
Across the district, rising demand for affordable land, population growth, rural-urban migration and increasing land values are pushing residents into densely populated neighbourhoods, where planning, access roads, drainage and housing standards are inadequate.
Ms Ruth Nakatudde, the Wakiso District principal physical planner, says the growth of informal settlements is being driven by demographic and economic pressures, with land fragmentation emerging as one of the major contributors.

“Everyone is looking for an affordable plot of land for settlement. They want to stay near Kampala, probably where they are employed or operating their businesses,” she explains.
Wakiso’s close proximity to Kampala has made it particularly attractive to people who work in the capital, but cannot afford to live there.
Ms Nakatudde says Wakiso Sub-county, one of the 17 sub-counties in the district, is among the fastest-growing areas because of its closeness to Kampala.
“People choose to stay here (in Wakiso) because they want to reduce transportation costs,” she says.

Source: monitor.co.ug

MEDIA FOR CHANGE NETWORK

One killed, another injured as residents resist arrest over disputed Wakiso land

Published

17 hours ago

September 21, 2026

witnessradio.org

One person was on Thursday shot dead and another injured after police opened fire to quell a group of rowdy residents who attempted to resist the arrest of a colleague following a dispute of land in Kataluko Village, Lukwanga, Wakiso District.

The deceased, identified as Joseph Ssenyondo, 40, a bricklayer, died while being rushed to St Joseph Hospital for treatment after being hit by a bullet from armed police officers who were deployed at the scene.

Eyewitnesses say Ssenyondo, who was randomly passing by the scene, was pronounced dead on arrival at the health facility, while Jacob Nsubuga Wasswa remains admitted at Mulago National Referral Hospital.

The officers from Bukasa Police Station had gone to the area with the intent to arrest one of the residents accused of assault over a land-related conflict when the residents tried to remove him from them, prompting the violent retaliation.

“The issue is about land. Someone had been arrested, and he cried for help, so we, the residents, came to rescue him. When police officers at the scene saw us, they fired three bullets; one hit the Ssenyondo, another injured one person, while the third did not hit anyone,” an eyewitness said.

Residents accused Mr Ssebanakitta of fueling land conflicts in the area through unscrupulous dealings, something he adamantly rejected.

He instead explained that the piece of land in question had been sold and that the buyer had started using the property before a group of people allegedly assaulted him, took his money and mobile phone, prompting him to report the matter to police.

“The owner had started using his place, but they came, assaulted him, and took his money and phone. He went to the police and reported the matter. They had now been traced so they could go and make statements,” Mr Ssebanakitta, a land dealer in the area, said.

Kampala Metropolitan Police Spokesperson, Ms Racheal Kawala, confirmed the shooting and said investigations had started.

She explained police officers had gone to the area following a complaint related to a land dispute, but a confrontation with some residents erupted at the scene.

“We have started investigating the fracas that occurred in Lukwanga, which is related to land,” Ms Kawala said.

She added that police officers were at the scene when the confrontation broke out and that they fired shots to disperse the crowd.
“In the process of dispersing the crowd, our officers fired the bullet that accidentally hit a resident,” she said.

Ms Kawala said the police officer responsible for the shooting would be arrested as investigations continue.

The incident adds to a growing record of violence and confrontations linked to land disputes in Wakiso and other parts of the country.

In February this year, Tom Kato, a resident of Kibujjo-Seeta in Bembe Parish, Namayumba Sub-county, Wakiso District, was killed by unknown people in circumstances linked to a family land dispute. Police arrested his wife as investigations continued, but the family has yet to get justice.

In another incident, a resident of Buwanuka village in Namayumba Sub-county accused police and local leaders of conniving with a land surveyor in a dispute involving more than 1,000 residents on a contested 1,044.9-acre piece of land.

Source: monitor.co.ug

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