By: Ismael Kasooha
BULIISA
Prime Minister Rt. Hon. Robinah Nabbanja has blamed district land boards in the country for increased land conflicts.
Nabbanja said that some rich people processing and acquiring land titles on land where there are tenants is being orchestrated by the district land boards who issue land offers.
“where do these people get signatures to process land titles to come and start evicting innocent occupants or tenants? There must be connivance with these land hungry people to cause the suffering of Ugandans,” said Nabbanja.
While addressing the leaders of Buliisa district on Monday Nabbanja said that the district land boards are formed by the District LC V Chairpersons and if they could also be accomplices in this mess.
Nabbanja was up in arms against Buliisa District Land Board members for allegedly fuelling land grabbing.
This came after the LC V Chairperson Buliisa Fred Lukumu reported to the Prime Minister that people are living in fear of eviction from one Kaahwa Frank who has a series of land titles in the oil rich District of Buliisa.
According to Nabbanja, the Land Board members connive with land grabbers to conduct illegal and brutal evictions in the district.
The furious speaking Nabbanja said that her office has received sufficient evidence implicating the land board members of Buliisa District for being behind massive land grabbing through the issuance of land titles to the rich at the expense of the unsuspecting vulnerable community members.
“Communal land is supposed to be owned communally but the District Land Board has gone ahead to issue land titles to the rich instead of helping the local people also acquire land titles,” said Nabbanja.
Nabbanja also accused the LCV chairperson, Fred Lukumu of failing to take action against the land board members well knowing their involvement in fraudulent transactions, which has fuelled tension in the community.
She particularly accused the land board members of allegedly conniving with Francis Kaahwa, a prominent businessman in Buliisa and Kampala to grab peoples’ land. Nabbanja noted that the government will make sure that all the illegally acquired land titles are cancelled soon so that justice can prevail.
The Prime Minister directed Stephen Mfashingabo, the Buliisa Resident District Commissioner – RDC, and the police not to honor any eviction orders presented to their officers until all the land-related cases in the district are resolved by her office.
“I direct the RDC and DPC not to honor any eviction orders until these issues are sorted out,” ordered Nabbanja.
She said that the government will come up with a policy statement to protect the tenants from the rich people who are conniving with district land boards to cause unnecessary suffering of the people so that they can hate the government.
Efforts to get a comment from the Buliisa District Land Board Chairperson, Stephen Majara Matongo were futile as he could not be reached on his mobile phone.
Land conflicts are widely spread in the oil-rich Bunyoro sub region which is threatening food security and also affecting the livelihoods of the people.
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