By KT Reporter
More than 500 families in Masindi district are on the verge of forceful eviction from their ancestral land.
The affected families are from the villages of Kitinwa, Kyakatera and Kyamaiso in the sub counties of Kijunjubwa,Bikozi and Bwijanga.
The families are feuding with Ahamed Sewagudde, a tycoon over a piece of land measuring approximately 170 acres.
According to the affected residents, some of them occupied the disputed land in the 1960s but they are surprised that Sewagudde has come up to claim the land. They want the government to intervene and stop the tycoon from evicting them from their land.
Sylvia Karungi, a resident of Kyamaiso village, alleges that Sewagude has connived with police and arrested several of the area residents who are opposed to his decision to grab the land.
Charles Byaruhanga, the defense secretary for Kyamaiso village says, he has lived in the area since 1970 and wonders how Sewagudde has come to claim the land yet he is not even a resident in the area.
Frank Kato, the LCII Chairperson for Kitamba Parish in Bwijanga Sub County says, residents are currently living in fear and appealed for immediate government intervention to rescue the situation.
He also wants the government to investigate the circumstances under which the tycoon has secured a title on land that residents have settled on for decades.
James Mudede, the LC3 Chairperson for Bwijanga Sub County says, the fate of the more than 500 families is at stake adding that his office is liaising with that of the Masindi Resident District Commissioner (RDC) to tackle the issue.
However, Sewagudde maintains that he is the rightful owner of the contested piece of land and that he legally and genuinely acquired the title.
Darius Nandinda, the Masindi Resident District Commissioner (RDC) says, the affected residents recently petitioned his office over the matter and assured them that no one would evict them from the land.
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