Victoria Businge Rusoke, the Kabarole woman Member of Parliament has been dragged to Fort Portal police station on allegations of malicious damage to property and tress pass.
It is alleged that Rusoke trespassed on the land of one Akengo Harriet, the manager of Tooro Dairy in Fort Portal.
The land in question is located on plot 12 Mukasenyi in Njara Boma, East division Fort Portal municipality.
According to Akengo’s Lawyer Richard Bwiruka of Bwiruka and company advocates, Rusoke is alleged to have tress passed on their client’s land on Friday November 25th 2011.
Bwiruka alleges that on the same day Rusoke maliciously destroyed food crops in Akengo’s garden. The lawyers in a police statement claim that Rusoke had been embroiled in the land wrangle with the complainant for some years.
Akengo says that she bought the land and surveyed it in 2006 but Rusoke came and shifted the boundaries claiming it’s hers. She says the two are neighbours.
Bakari Muga Bashir, the Western police spokesperson confirmed a case file has been opened against the legislator accusing her of tress pass and malicious damage of property.
He says that Rusoke hired prisoners from Katojo government prison who came and cut down Akengo’s banana plantation, the maize garden, cassava and beans all valued at one million shillings.
Police adds that Rusoke has also blocked the access road between her, the complainant and Mountains of the Moon Hotel fencing it off with a barbed wire.
Bakari says that after destroying the crop gardens, Rusoke ordered the prisoners to transport on their lorry the uprooted and destroyed materials to unknown destination with an intention of killing evidence.
The police boss says that Akengo on learning the incident called Allan Okello, the regional prisons commander and the police who came and intercepted the lorry carrying the materials.
Bakari says that Okello and the police ordered the prisoners to return the materials to the land in dispute to act as exhibits.
Akengo is accusing the MP of using her position and powers to grab her land.
Bakari says that the police are still investigating the matter and soon the MP will be summoned to answer charges of malicious damage of property.
When contacted, Rusoke said that she has fenced off the land which belongs to her not Akengo’s.
She says that she surveyed her land and she has the land title adding that she is ready to battle with Akengo is the courts of law.
