Hoima Resident District Commissioner’s office is over flooded with land cases. The deputy RDC Abdul Swamad Wantimba says he is overwhelmed by the many cases he receives.
The office receives not less than 10 land cases every day, making it always filled with people complaining over land issues. Some complainants literally pitch camp at the office demanding the RDC’s intervention in their land wrangles.
Wantimba says majority of the land cases include those involving family members, grabbing of orphans and widows’ pieces of land and encroachment on public land.
He attributes the problem to the people's ignorance on land laws and the influence of politicians especially at lower local councils.
Ever since oil was discovered in the area there has been a rush for prime land with potential buyers coming from far flung places like Kampala.
According to Wantimba, some local councilors do not help solve land wrangles but rather take sides and sometimes get involved in illegal allocation of pieces of land in their areas.
The deputy RDC cites the delayed court verdicts on land cases as another cause of the rampant land cases in the district. He explains that many people prefer grabbing land other than using the courts.
Wantimba reveals that his office is now engaging various stakeholders like the district land board, the probation office and the regional state attorney to enhance community sensitization on land issues as away of averting the problem.
Cue in: We have decided…
Cue out: ... they just come.
Prominent land cases in Hoima include that between Bunyoro Kitara kingdom and residents of Buswekera and the encroachment on Bujawe central forest reserve.
Others are disputes between veteran lawyer Yesero Mugenyi and residents of Kikwite and controversy over Bulera Teachers College land.
Local council officials partly blame government for the rampant land wrangles. John Bahemuka, the Bugambe Sub- county LC3 Chairman, says government has for long failed to schedule elections for LC1 and LC2 officials who are vital in solving land matters at village levels.
Bahemuka says these local council officials cannot now make decisions on land matters as their input is sometimes contested and challenged in courts of law on grounds that their term of office expired in 2006.
Cue out: The LC1s and Twos…
Cue ou: ... in those LCs.
Police blames the rampant land cases for the increase in crimes like murder, attempted murder, malicious damage and criminal trespass.
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