Namutumba, Uganda: For more than four decades, Mariam Tabisa Mutesi and her family lived peacefully on a 16-acre ancestral piece of land in Ituba Village, Namutumba District. Today, the 70-year-old widow says she is homeless, landless, and watching her family battle criminal charges over the very property they have occupied for 43 years.
What was once family land inherited through generations has become the centre of a bitter legal battle involving allegations of land grabbing, forged sale agreements, criminal trespass charges and disputed clan ownership.
Mutesi, who married the late Amisi Mpanga in 1983, says the family had never experienced any dispute over the land until 2019 when a man identified as Ibrahim Musasizi emerged claiming ownership.
For the widow, the dispute has turned life upside down. “They never experienced any conflict when my husband was alive,” Mutesi told DailyExpress. “Now I have no food, no land to cultivate and we are struggling to survive.”
Her husband died on July 28, 2025, leaving behind the land that had sustained the family for decades. The property also contains family graves and is regarded by relatives as ancestral land.
From Family Home to Crime Scene
According to Mutesi’s son, Hassan Sajjabi, the conflict escalated dramatically last year when a group of unfamiliar men arrived on the land and informed the family they were trespassers on property they had occupied their entire lives.
Sajjabi recalls that the men demanded identification and warned that police would be called.
Alarmed, the family contacted the area LC1 Chairperson, Salim Waiswa, who responded to the scene. However, the visitors insisted they were acting on behalf of Musasizi, whom they claimed was the rightful owner.
What followed would leave the family reeling.
Days later, heavily armed police officers reportedly arrived at the home and arrested members of the family.
Sajjabi and his brother Mwammad Mpanga were charged with criminal trespass, arson and robbery. While Sajjabi later secured bail, his brother remains behind bars as the legal process continues.
The widow says that while family members were detained, their house was demolished. “Musasizi pulled down our house and used some of the materials to construct his own building on the land,” she alleged.
Fear Spreads Through the Village
The dispute has since extended beyond the Mpanga family.
Several residents claim Musasizi is asserting ownership over additional parcels of land in the area, arguing that many occupants lack formal documentation.
Betty Nkora, a widow and mother of 12, says she was shocked when her own rights to family land came under question. “My husband owned this land since 1983. Now someone is telling us it is no longer ours,” she said.
Another resident, Joseph Nyonga, claims part of the land left behind by his father, Paskar Olochi, has also become the subject of ownership claims.
The growing anxiety has created fear among residents who worry they could be the next targets in the dispute.
Questions Over Land Sale Agreement
Local leaders have also raised concerns about the documents underpinning Musasizi’s claim.
LC1 Chairperson Salim Waiswa says he was shown a land sale agreement allegedly proving that Musasizi purchased the land from the late Yowana Titwalima.
However, Waiswa questioned the authenticity of the document.
According to him, the agreement lacked signatures from neighbouring landowners and contained only two witnesses. He further noted that the document was signed by LC2 Chairperson Hamuza Mukwaya, who has since disappeared from the area.
“The agreement looked suspicious. There were no neighbouring witnesses and many important details were missing,” Waiswa said.
His involvement in defending the residents came at a personal cost.
Waiswa says he and several LC committee members were later arrested and spent a month in prison in Iganga over their intervention.
RDC, State House Unit order probe
The dispute has now attracted the attention of government authorities.
Assistant Resident District Commissioner Richard Musana recently convened a community meeting to hear grievances from affected residents and review the circumstances surrounding the case.
Musana reportedly questioned how both police and court processes had unfolded and revealed that the RDC’s office had engaged the State House Anti-Corruption Unit to investigate the matter.
He also warned local leaders against facilitating illegal land transactions.
The intervention has raised hopes among residents that the matter could receive closer scrutiny from higher authorities.
Legal Battle Intensifies
The Mpanga family is now receiving legal representation from Redeem International, a legal aid organisation working on land rights and vulnerable communities.
Legal officer Damalie Nyafono confirmed that multiple cases related to the dispute are active before courts in Namutumba and Iganga.
According to Nyafono, the legal team has filed counter-charges against Musasizi and several associates, accusing them of criminal trespass and malicious damage.
She revealed that two individuals, identified as Zubair Isabirye and Karimu Kiiyi, were arrested and charged on March 18 as part of the ongoing proceedings.
Nyafono further disclosed that lawyers representing Musasizi have asked court to prohibit the Mpanga family from accessing or using the disputed land pending final determination of ownership.
The application is currently before court.
Meanwhile, she successfully secured bail for Sajjabi and several local leaders who had been arrested during the dispute.
Musasizi Defends Ownership Claim
Musasizi rejects accusations that he grabbed the land.
Speaking to DailyExpress, he said he legally purchased the property in 2020 from members of the Baise Munana clan, whom he considers the rightful owners.
He disputes claims by the Mpanga family that the land belongs to the Baise Ndego clan and maintains that the courts should be allowed to determine the matter.
“I bought the land legally and I am waiting for court to pronounce itself,” Musasizi said.
He is currently out on police bond and court bail as the various cases proceed.
Family Appeals to Museveni
For the Mpanga family, the legal arguments offer little comfort as uncertainty continues to define their lives. Sajjabi says two of his brothers, Salim and Rashid Mpanga, have fled the area fearing arrest and further harassment.
He has now appealed directly to President Yoweri Museveni and government institutions to intervene. “We have lived on this land all our lives. Our parents lived here. Our grandparents are buried here. We are only asking for justice,” Sajjabi said.
As court battles continue, the case highlights Uganda’s persistent land conflict crisis, where ancestral occupancy, customary ownership and modern documentation systems frequently collide—often leaving vulnerable families fighting for the land they have long called home.
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