By KT Reporter
In the dead of night, families in Kapapi and Kiganja sub-counties of Hoima district were forcibly evicted from their ancestral lands in February 2025.
Over 500 families, many cultivators and pastoralists, watched as police officers and private security set fire to more than 50 homes and looted livestock, including cows and goats.
Some have since taken refuge under makeshift shelters at Rwenyana Gospel Church in Kapapi Sub-County, while others scatter in neighboring villages, struggling to survive in harsh conditions. “Everything we worked for, our homes and our animals, were destroyed in a single night,” said Margret Akumu, a resident of Kapapi.
“We are left with nothing, and no one has come to help us.” This was not the first time residents of Bunyoro faced such brutality. In February 2019, more than 500 families were violently evicted from Kyabisagazi 1 and 2 villages in Kigorobya Sub-County.
Armed men in uniforms resembling those of the Uganda People’s Defense Forces and Anti-Riot Police raided the villages under the pretext of a security operation. The operation left four toddlers dead, destroyed homes, and displaced hundreds of families.
The contested land, covering 485 acres, was at the center of a dispute with businessman Edgar Agaba. Years later, the victims remain landless, many depending on relatives in distant parts of the country for survival. For residents, the discovery of oil and gas has only intensified fears.
“We are constantly worried that history will repeat itself,” said Vincent Kusiima, a resident of Kabwoya Sub-County in Kikuube. “People with money and influence are eyeing our land, and if our leaders do not act, we could lose everything.”
Amid this crisis, residents are calling on newly elected leaders in the Bunyoro sub-region to unite and take immediate action to protect communities from evictions. Carolyne Aheebwa of Mutunda Sub-County in Kiryandongo said, “Leaders must prioritize our land security above politics. We need free distribution of land titles to protect our communities from grabbers and speculators.”
Vincent Alpha Opio, Kikuube LCV Vice Chairperson, echoed the call, emphasizing that “the protection of people’s land must be the number one priority. Highly connected individuals are invading our districts, acquiring fraudulent titles, and ignoring local leadership. If we fail to act, the people’s future is at risk.”
Pius Wakabi, Member of Parliament for Bugahya County, pledged that Bunyoro would receive affirmative action following the discovery of oil and gas, which has fueled a surge in land disputes. Edward Okello, a resident of Kasenyi-Lyato in Buseruka Sub-County, urged the government to investigate fraudulent land titles in the region and annul them immediately.
“If the authorities delay, many more families will be left without homes or land,” he warned.
The situation has also sparked accusations against Moses Asiimwe, a tycoon in Hoima city, whom residents allege colluded with security forces to seize land unlawfully.
The ongoing land crisis has left communities living in fear, unsure whether they will wake up in their homes or on the cold ground in makeshift shelters. Residents stress that if elected leaders do not act decisively in the coming five years, the fate of Bunyoro’s communities could be permanently compromised.
“Political differences must be set aside,” Vincent Kusiima said. “Leaders must unite for the common goal of safeguarding our land.”
The people of Bunyoro now wait, hoping that the next wave of leadership will heed their calls and ensure that justice, land security, and dignity are finally restored to those who have suffered decades of dispossession and trauma.
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