JINJA – Tensions are high in Buwekula Kainogoga village, Jinja City, following a violent eviction carried out by police and royal guards from the office of the Kyabazinga of Busoga. The operation, which involved the destruction of homes and alleged torture of residents, has drawn the direct intervention of a State Minister.
The Jinja District Police Commander (DPC), Robert Komakech, has been arrested in connection with the incident and is facing charges related to his alleged role in overseeing the violent eviction.
The crisis prompted an emergency fact-finding meeting convened by the Jinja Resident District Commissioner (RDC), Richard Gulume. The meeting was attended by the Head of Lands in the Kyabazinga’s government, Fred Kyangwa, and the State Minister for Lands, Dr. Sam Mayanja.
Minister Mayanja arrived in Jinja at 11:30 AM and was first briefed by RDC Gulume before the team proceeded to the Kyabazinga’s royal grounds in Bugembe for a meeting with Mr. Kyangwa.
During the meeting, Minister Mayanja presented a report that had been sent to President Museveni detailing the land conflict between the residents of Buwekula Kainogoga and the Kyabazinga’s institution. The minister informed officials that the land being claimed by the royal institution is, in fact, public land belonging to the government.
Minister Mayanja also expressed his disappointment, noting that while the Kyabazinga had directed his officials to collaborate with the lands ministry to resolve the matter, some of those same officials were simultaneously taking residents to court.
The minister later visited the contested land site, where he held a meeting with the evicted residents.
The LC1 Chairman of the area, Muhammad Boogere, explained that the conflict has a long history, stating, "This dispute started in the year 2009 when people came and told us to vacate the land because it belongs to the Kyabazinga."
Residents, led by Joan Namuseke and Eva Nabasirye, arrived at the scene to find their properties destroyed and some of their colleagues injured.
They further accused the Katikiro (Prime Minister) of Busoga, Joseph Muvawala, of using a 1919 land title to claim the area, questioning why this claim is only being enforced now, decades later.
In his directives, Minister Mayanja vowed to protect the residents from being evicted from the land. However, he also called on the Kyabazinga to restrain his Katikiro, whom he accused of not following proper legal procedures.
The minister also ordered the RDC and the arrested DPC to apprehend everyone involved in the alleged torture of residents, including any soldiers who participated. He further requested that the Kyabazinga's guards involved in the operation be replaced.
Ultimately, based on the minister's report, it has been established that although the land is registered, it is government land, and the Kyabazinga’s institution possesses no valid title deed for it.
