Customery land owners in Masese area of Jinja district are accusing their leaders of extortion.
The land owners accuse their leaders led by Issa Buyoga, the Masese LC V councilor of conning them of shillings 300,000 each, to process titles to their land.
More than 30 residents paid the money but were never issued with receipts.
Francis Kayiwa and Joyce Nankwanga claim that they were coerced to pay the money.
Kayiwa says that councilor Buyoga and his team threatened them that they would loose their land to foreign investors unless they paid the shillings 300,000 levy.
He says that they were told that the part of the money would be used to pay surveyors to demarcate their land into plots to enable them process their titles.
Kayiwa however says that they when they became suspicious and approached the municipality surveyor Sam Kitimbo, he denied knowledge of any plans to survey the land.
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Sam Lwanga, the LC I chairman of Masese village condemns those who extorted money from his electorate.
In a meeting convened today Lwanga advised the residents to open a police case against Issa Buyoga and Joyce Nankwanga for extortion.
Tabisa Kakuze, the physical planner of Jinja Municipality says that despite the fact that a plan is in place to construct an urban settlement in Masese they are still at planning level.
Robert Opola says that on top of the 300,000 shillings they were also asked to pay 10,000 shillings each to transport surveyors to their land.
He says that since they paid the money no surveyor has been brought to survey their land.
Opola says that instead of being giving the land titles they paid for their land was demarcated using sticks.
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Christopher Bagonza, the Jinja Resident District Commissioner has promised to make sure those behind the extortion are dealt with.
Bagonza has also assured residents that they will not be displaced from their land since they are protected by the recently passed land amendment bill.
