Security personnel, including soldiers and police officers, have been deployed in Mandwiga village, Kyangwali Sub-county in Kikuube district as tensions rise in a land wrangle between former bibanja holders and new bibanja claimants.

The government, through the Land Fund, has already paid land title holders who had evicted more than 100 homesteads from the land measuring approximately seven square miles, in 2010.

The government compensated the former directors of Nkuse Ranchers including the Minister of Public Service, Wilson Muruli Mukasa, and the former LC3 Chairperson of Bugambe Sub County, John Bahemuka

They were paid from the Land Fund as the government sought to allocate the land measuring about seven square miles back to the bonafide occupants who had lived on the contested land for 12 years before they were evicted.

However, conflict again erupted between the former bibanja holders who were evicted in 2010 and want to repossess the bibanja and new bibanja holders who claim to have bought the land from Minister Muruli Mukasa’s brother and the children of the late Bahemuka.

The Kikuube Resident District Commissioner, Amlan Tumusiime, and the 13th Battalion Commander Col. Edward Kaddu visited the contested land and found several new bibanja holders using the land.

The settlers claim that between 2020 and 2022 they bought bibanja measuring 2 acres to 35 acres, each at 2 million shillings from a brother to Minister Mukasa and the children of the late John Bahemuka.

JOAN MASIKO - New Bibanja holder (in 2022 Byega James, one of the directors pocketed 5.5 billion shillings as government compensation and went ahead to resell the land.  I bought 12 acres at 2 million shillings which are 24 million shillings in total)

JOHN BOSCO MUGISHA - New Bibanja holder (I bought 5 acres from that side at 2 million shillings from Mbabazi Johnson)

During the assessment, the new bibanja claimants accused the Mandwiga village chairperson, Robert Balimunsi of signing the land sale sell agreements yet he knew that there was no vacant bibanja. Balimunsi denied any wrongdoing.

Tumusiime explained that soldiers and police officers will camp in the area for at least one month as they wait for the minister of lands to intervene to resolve the wrangle. Residents welcomed the deployment.   

He also gave assurance that new bibanja holders will be helped to recover their money from those who double-sold land.

The government decided to compensate the former Bibanja holders following a recommendation by the Commission of Inquiry into land matters, which was chaired by Justice Catherine Bamugemereire.

Ambrose