Six men believed to be part of a larger group of fraudulent land grabbers, have been arrested after being found carrying out an illegal eviction of Ms Immaculate Namakula, popularly known as Mankulata an elderly woman in Kisubi, Katabi Town Council, Wakiso District on Tuesday.
The Deputy Resident District Commissioner (RDC) Kajjansi Town Council, Mr Patrick Mubiru said he received a call from the elderly woman informing him of a group of men who had been ferried in two taxis’ had been brought to forcefully evict her.
“I was in the meeting last week and I gave an order that the woman is not evicted from her land which she has occupied for 50 years, but this group led by Ntanzi Godfrey who lives in Masaka City came here claiming that the land belonged to his father, then his father’s uncle who put him in his will, whose whereabouts we don’t know to come and chase the woman off her land” he said.
Mr Mubiru further noted that after showing them that they didn’t have ownership over the land, the group leader one Ntanzi, told him off saying that they had sold the land for UGX 300 million.
“Today he has denied ever selling the piece of land and has no knowledge of the land, yet we have arrested him on site, although others have run away” he said.
He further noted that there were police officers who were allegedly assisting the group to evict Mankulata from the land.
“We are going to fight for this elderly woman alongside the state house taskforce and I want to thank Gen Lukyamuzi, who offered the manpower to assist in apprehending the culprits because if not, we would have found when she has already been evicted” he said.
Mr Sempagala Jamil, from the Presidential Task Force on Land Matters and Environment revealed that the intervention occurred after Ms Namakula raised an alarm before it after the land grabbers tried to grab her landz.
“It’s alarming that when the old lady was attacked today and tried to get help from police, however for yet to be known reasons, the police didn’t come, we have been able to arrive together with the RDC in time and apprehended these fellows” he said.
He further expressed dismay at land grabbers who are trying to grab her land which she also occupied for the past 50 years.
“The period she has occupied her land, such acts shouldn’t have a place in society” he said.
Mr Sempagala further urged all government agencies to work together with the unit to curb land grabbing across the country.
Ms Immaculate Namakula, while addressing media revealed that she started living on the land in 1975, when she moved to the area with her late mother Nalubedde from Gomba District.
“We were brought by one of my aunties and we met a one Mutumba who was a carpenter at Kisubi Technical institute, but after his passing since he didn’t have any attachment on the land ownership, we stayed here” she said.
She added, “My aunt gave birth to children, I given birth and raised children here for 50 years”.
She further alleged that a one Ms Florence Nababi and Jjemba who were not found at the scene during the time of the arrests were the ones reportedly behind the illegal eviction.
