Kiboga, Uganda: The Kiboga Magistrates Court has convicted and sentenced 31-year-old Ronald Ainebyona to serve one and a half years in prison or a fine of Shs3.5 million after finding him guilty of forcible entry, malicious damage and assault causing actual bodily harm.
Ainebyona was arrested on March 14, 2025, following a violent land eviction in Lwakonge Village, Kiboga District, where he forcefully took over land comprised in Block 542, Plot 2, evicting occupants, destroying crops and assaulting residents.
Court heard that Ainebyona and his associates descended on the land armed with sticks and other crude weapons, uprooting plantations and injuring several occupants during the eviction.
The accused appeared in court on Friday, February 6, 2026, where the charges were read to him before sentencing.
Ainebyona’s conviction followed investigations by the State House Anti-Corruption Unit, acting on a directive from Yoweri Kaguta Museveni to the unit’s head, Henry Isoke, to probe the criminal aspects of the land dispute.
Other state institutions, including the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, the Uganda Police Force under the Inspector General of Police, and the Director of Public Prosecutions, coordinated to ensure the matter was prosecuted.
Disputed land with colonial roots
The contested land is the subject of a long-running dispute between a group of departed Asians, who hold a freehold title dating back to 1932, and Mwanje Badru, who acquired a mailo title in 1999.
Prosecution told court that Ainebyona claimed to be acting on behalf of the departed Asian claimants when he carried out the evictions, but the court found that he had no lawful authority to forcibly remove occupants or destroy property.
The magistrate ruled that even where land ownership is contested, disputes must be resolved through lawful court processes and not through violence or self-help.
Ainebyona’s case adds to a growing list of convictions linked to violent land evictions, which authorities say have become increasingly common across central Uganda.
Authorities have repeatedly warned against illegal land takeovers, noting that individuals who resort to force risk criminal prosecution regardless of the civil status of land disputes.
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