Buganda Land Board blocks eviction of over 4000 residents in Buikwe

BUIKWE, UGANDA: The Buganda Land Board (BLB) together with the RDC of Buikwe District Hajjat Hawa Ndege has blocked a planned eviction of over 4000 people from land that allegedly belongs to Namasole, the kabaka’s mother in the district.

The residents of Busagazi parish, Najja sub-county in Buikwe district have been living in fear of being evicted after unscrupulous people calling themselves agents of the Namasole gave them an ultimatum to get off the land which measures over 2 square miles.

The unscrupulous people have been using fraudulent titles to intimidate residents and extort busuulu (land tax) plus other monetary dues from them.

The chairperson of Najja subcounty, Mr Lukwago Musa says that the residents have been living in fear, not knowing who the rightful owner of the land is, and welcomed Buganda Land Board for coming out to stop the unscrupulous people from evicting them.

Buikwe RDC Hajjat Hawa Ndege welcomed the move by Buganda Land Board to come to the rescue of the people and pledged unwavering support to it in its efforts to register the people on the land

Hajjat Hawa said that on several occasions, she has asked the unscrupulous people who claim ownership of the land to bring to her documentation proving their ownership, but they have never brought them and therefore asked them to stop disturbing the bibanja holders seated on the land.

The RDC further urged people not to live in fear and to register their bibanja with Buganda Land Board in order for them to receive protection from the institution.

Mr. Moses Gambobbi, the Sensitization Officer at Buganda Land Board explained to the residents that the Busagazi land is an official estate of Buganda kingdom and is therefore administered by Buganda Land Board and thus no one should confuse them or threaten to evict them.

He pledged to them that Buganda Land Board would register them and protect them against any eviction.

Buikwe district is one of the districts in Uganda where land wrangles and evictions are rampant. In the same district in Golomolo subcounty, residents have been battling former minister of water Ronald Kibuule who has tried on several occasions to evict them using a land title which Buganda Land Board says is fraudulent and has moved to have canceled.