A group of families living in Buswekera village in Hoima district are at war with the Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom over the ownership of their land.
Buswekera is located in Busiisi sub-county, which is about five kilometers from Hoima town on the Hoima-Fort Portal Road.
According to the residents, the kingdom is attempting to steal their land.
George Kyaligonza, the Bunyoro Kitara Natural Resources Minister, says 25 hectares of land in Buswekera belong to the kingdom and it intends to repossess it. He says the land contains valuable cultural assets, which the kingdom intends to gazette and use for its expansion and development.
But the residents are determined not to move and have the support of Hoima district's highest-ranked politician, the LC5 chairperson George Bagonza Tinkamanyire. They have threatened to block any plans to evict them.
Tinkamanyire, whose home is located on the contested land, says the Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom does not have any legal claim to the property. He says all land owners in the area have titles for their property and permanent developments like the Buswekera Trading Center will not move to accommodate the kingdom's whims.
The Bunyoro minister, George Kyaligonza, says the matter has been misunderstood. He admits that the kingdom wants to reclaim the land, but says no one will be evicted from their property unlawfully.
Kyaligonza explains that reclaiming the land is only intended to avoid further encroachment on the kingdom's property.
