Mary Kihembo Kibahigyire, a prominent businesswoman in Mbarara and Kampala cities is under the spotlight for allegedly deploying armed Congolese refugees on disputed land in Rukiga district. The contested land is found on Kishingati Hill in Nyabubare village in Rwenangye parish, Kamwezi sub-county.
The dispute over the land came into public light in October 2021. Locals accused Kibahigyire of grabbing and fencing 64 hectares of their land together with her 15 hectares of land. In December 2022, locals accused Kibahigyire of deploying armed private security guards on the contested land and barred them from accessing it. This forced Rukiga district security authorities to intervene and order her to withdraw the armed security guards since they were not known to the security authorities.
A ten-man security committee led by the District Criminal Intelligence Officer was instituted to conduct thorough investigations into the matter and compile a report to guide the way forward. Late last month, locals again accused Kyibahigyire of making a fresh deployment of Congolese refugees armed with arrows and bows on the contested land backed by dogs.
But Kyibahigyire accuses security authorities of bias and favoring the locals. She admits having deployed Congolese refugees following the withdrawal of armed private security guards because of threats from locals. She argued that she picked the refugees from one of the recognized camps and they were cleared by the office of the Prime Minister.
Fred Nayebare Kyamuzigyita, Rukiga Resident District Commissioner says the matter will be investigated and refugees found deployed without the required documents from the office of the Prime Minister will be arrested. He also ordered Kibahigyire to remove the fence, allow locals to access the contested land, and use the courts of law to handle the matter.
