By the Witness Radio team
For over sixty years, Mastula Nyirabatusi has cherished her land in Kyakayongo Village, Nalutuntu Sub-county, Kasanda District. Now 80, she sees it as the heart of her life, a place she bought in 1964 and where she has raised her family for generations.
Today, Mastula finds herself locked in a bitter struggle with two of her grandchildren over the very land she calls home.
The ongoing battle has left the older woman frail. Her family says the relentless conflict and looming eviction have taken a toll on her health.
Mastula’s family says her grandchildren, Lovinsa Mukantagala and Ninkuuze Esther, claim that the approximately 10-acre piece of land belongs to their late father, Jamil Kaberuka.
However, Mastula disputes the claim. She says she bought the 10-acre land in Kyakayongo from Nyonyintono Musolobindo in 1964 for 130 shillings and has lived on it ever since.
What began as a family quarrel at local council meetings has spilled into the courts, tearing Mastula’s family apart. One of her sons, Byakatonda Diriisa, has spent over seven months in jail for defending his mother’s land.
But the family’s land dealings go further back. Mastula’s brother, Sulaiman Baragwiza, lived in Mityana-Busundo. According to Mastula’s family, he died leaving behind two sons, Muzindusi Abdallah and Jamil Kaberuka.
According to the family, Mastula later sold land that had belonged to her late brother, Sulaiman Baragwiza, in Mityana and used part of the money to acquire about three acres in Kyamwendwa Village, Kassanda District, for Baragwiza’s two sons.
In 1978, Mastula handed the land agreement to Muzindusi Abdallah, the elder of the two brothers, after he had started a family. Kaberuka, however, remained under Mastula’s care because he was younger at the time.
Florence Nabawanuka, one of Mastula’s daughters, says Kaberuka left his aunt’s home when he grew up and was never heard from again.
“Kaberuka disappeared from the village, and none of us got to know of his whereabouts ever since then,” Nabawanuka says.
In 2015, Kaberuka’s children, Lovinsa and Ninkuuze, appeared and presented an agreement they said showed Mastula had sold her 10 acres to their late father.
The document allegedly indicated the transaction took place in 1998. They first presented it to the Local Council Two committee and later to the Local Council One committee, chaired at the time by Okello Emmanuel.
Local leaders interviewed for this story questioned the document because of inconsistencies in the date and circumstances under which it was allegedly made.
Mr. Oyiire Samuel, the chairperson of Kyakayongo Village, says residents had always known Mastula as the person occupying and using the land.
“We all grew up seeing Mastula as the rightful owner settling on that land. The agreement Kaberuka’s daughters presented is fake because it shows it was written in 1988, yet their father left the village in 1985. Therefore, he could not have been given any land. Mastula also says she has never sold her land,” Oyiire says.
Oyiire wondered how the girls could forcefully take their grandmother’s land when he took care of their father. “This is totally unbelievable and can only be done by an insane person. They should thank the older woman instead of trying to take her land. At eighty, where do they want her to go?” he added.
To end the dispute, the local council advised Mastula to surrender part of her 10-acre land to the two grandchildren. Mastula agreed and gave them about two and a half acres from the 10-acre land.
Although the family says the parties signed an agreement, they told Witness Radio they were surprised when the grandchildren took the matter to court, claiming Mastula was illegally settling on their land.
The Grade One Court in Kiganda eventually ordered the grandchildren to vacate the land and keep away from Mastula. The grandchildren appealed to the High Court in Mubende.
However, the Mubende High Court overturned the Grade One Court judgment, ruling that Mastula should remain on the land during her lifetime, after which the grandchildren could take possession when she dies.
The court’s decision only deepened the rift, as Mastula’s family voiced their strong disagreement with the ruling.
Mastula’s children were dissatisfied with the decision and subsequently appealed to the Court of Appeal, where the matter remains pending.
As the legal battle dragged on, its ripple effects began to touch every corner of Mastula’s family.
According to accounts gathered by Witness Radio, the group, with support from area police, caused the arrest of Mastula’s son, Byakatonda Diriisa. The court accused him of trespassing on his mother’s land and sentenced him to one year in jail.
“He was supporting our mother to resist the eviction. Because he was the obstacle, they decided to lock him in jail to complete their plans,” Nabawanuka added.
According to Diriisa’s wife, Nabirye Amiina, he has spent more than seven months in custody, which has affected both his family and Mastula’s family.
“We are no longer getting all the necessary family needs since my husband was taken to prison, though he is innocent. This also caused four of our children to drop out of school due to lack of fees,” she added.
For Mastula’s family, the land dispute is more than a fight over property. It has shaken the health of an 80-year-old matriarch, cut off the family’s livelihood, and, relatives say, shattered the education of four children.
For Mastula, this legal storm comes at a time when she should be enjoying peace on the land she has tended for decades. Instead, her family says her health has declined steadily as the conflict rages on.
Mastula’s lawyer, Alex Tusiime, says his client has evidence supporting her claim and calls for a fair hearing in court.
“We are going to try our level best to see that Mastula gets justice. There could have been delays in the past by her former lawyers, but we are to do whatever it takes because we have the proof that the land belongs to Mastula,” Tusiime added.
