Kasirivu orders North Kigezi Diocese to leave disputed land
Mar 09, 2009
NORTH Kigezi Diocese Kinyasaano has been told to vacate 5.9 acres of land at Katobotobo village, Nyabitete parish in Rukungiri district.
By Caleb Bahikaho
NORTH Kigezi Diocese Kinyasaano has been told to vacate 5.9 acres of land at Katobotobo village, Nyabitete parish in Rukungiri district.
The outgoing State Minister for Lands, Dr. Kasirivu Atwooki, has directed the Church of Uganda to cease using the property, saying it is public land.
In a February 9 letter to the resident district commissioner, Kasirivu said the land belonged to the entire community of the parish.
Kasirivu received a petition from the residents one- and-a-half years ago and investigations established that the rightful owner was the community.
“On this land, the community had established an immunisation centre, projects such as poultry, vaccination of animals and bee keeping,†Kasirivu wrote.
“The church has been using it as a trustee only,†the letter reads.
The disputed land is situated on Rubabo Block 6 , Plot 240.
Kasirivu said he got information from an 80-year-old man, Alozio Kataho, who worked with the surveyors from 1959 to 1961 and demarcated it as Government land to be used as a work camp.
However, the Church of Uganda is reported to have applied for the same land in 1968 and built a school, which collapsed in 1984.
The Bishop of North Kigezi, the Rev. Dr. Edward Muhima, said the land remained church property.
NORTH Kigezi Diocese Kinyasaano has been told to vacate 5.9 acres of land at Katobotobo village, Nyabitete parish in Rukungiri district.
The outgoing State Minister for Lands, Dr. Kasirivu Atwooki, has directed the Church of Uganda to cease using the property, saying it is public land.
In a February 9 letter to the resident district commissioner, Kasirivu said the land belonged to the entire community of the parish.
Kasirivu received a petition from the residents one- and-a-half years ago and investigations established that the rightful owner was the community.
“On this land, the community had established an immunisation centre, projects such as poultry, vaccination of animals and bee keeping,†Kasirivu wrote.
“The church has been using it as a trustee only,†the letter reads.
The disputed land is situated on Rubabo Block 6 , Plot 240.
Kasirivu said he got information from an 80-year-old man, Alozio Kataho, who worked with the surveyors from 1959 to 1961 and demarcated it as Government land to be used as a work camp.
However, the Church of Uganda is reported to have applied for the same land in 1968 and built a school, which collapsed in 1984.
The Bishop of North Kigezi, the Rev. Dr. Edward Muhima, said the land remained church property.