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The State House Anti-corruption Unit has launched investigations into a dispute over five acres of land in three villages of Banda B (Nakawa Division), Kinawataka, and Kiganda in Kira Municipality and Kampala City.
This action followed a petition from more than 3,000 residents and local leaders, alleging threats of eviction by the Uganda Police Force, who claim ownership of the land.
Officials from SHACU visited the area last week, and recorded statements from the affected residents, and also stopped any eviction, “until the ownership of the land is clearly established”.
In an interview on February 6, Ms Mariam Natasha Oduka, the spokesperson of SHACU, emphasised the need for thorough verification of the claims on the land, adding that no arrests have been made.
“…….Our team was there and investigations are still ongoing to verify the different claims on the land..,” Ms Natasha said.
Ms Oduka said they received a petition from four villages of Banda B, Kinawataka, Kiganda, and Kasokoso.
“I appeal to the residents to relax because this is mostly an issue of dialogue and settling amicably, we shall be communicating for any new development,” she said.
“We are living in fear, every day we see police moving in big numbers the same way they did before evicting our other colleagues, they go on threatening us, we have stayed on this land for the last 25 years. We are wondering why police is claiming its ownership yet we have documents for ownership,” a resident said.
Police, between November and December last year, evicted more than 400 people in Kiganda, claiming the land belongs to the force.
One person was on November 13, 2023 shot dead by police officers during protests against evictions.
The Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson told reporters on November 14 last year that the operations were aimed at evicting non-eligible residents, including civilians, private security guards, bars, salons, clinics, retired police officers, and officers who were transferred.
The matter was brought to the attention of senior presidential advisor, Ms Hadijah Namyalo, who expressed dissatisfaction with the police’s handling of the situation and called for a peaceful resolution.
“ It is wrong to create internal refugees in the country unless the Uganda Police finds land to relocate the victims as guided by the laws of Uganda,” she said.
Ms Namyalo, who is also the head of ONC, urged the community to unite and draft a petition to address the issue with relevant authorities.
