Land wrangles between Basongora pastoralists and Bakonzo cultivators in Kasese district have sparked off again.
On Monday night, suspected herdsmen, raided maize field belonging to farmers in Kabukero Village Karusandara Sub County and cut them down. About five acres of maize, one acre of banana plantation and half an acre of ground nuts was uprooted. The destroyed gardens belonged to Miriam Mbammbu, Herizon, Muhindo James Kikenzera and Alex oneno all residents of kabukero village.
The farmers led by Juma malaghi stormed the RDC and DISOs office with some of the destroyed plants in their hands.
Malaghi told Journalist that the disputed land was gazzetted as a boundary separating the Bakonzo and Basongora, but later the land was allocated to farmers.
During the 2007 resettlement of Basongora pastoralists, both parties were apportioned land from Mubuku prison land with ratio of three to one. Since then, the cultivators have accused the Basongora of encroaching on their land, leading to fights and loss of lives.
The Kasese district Deputy RDC Aminadab Muhindo, who visited the scene asked the farmers to remain calm pending further investigations into the demarcations.
The RDC said that the land in question should be left as a buffer zone to avoid further clashes.
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