Hoima RDC halts surveying of contested land

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Hoima resident district commissioner Rodgers Mbabazi has halted the surveying of contested land in Kyamukwenda parish, Kapapi subcounty, Hoima district.

Mbabazi issued the directive on January 8, 2026, during a meeting convened at Tuhumwei village to address residents’ concerns over threats of eviction.

The meeting followed a petition by residents who accused the family of former minister and deputy prime minister Henry Muganwa Kajura of surveying their bibanja land without prior notice.

Mbabazi said the land in question measures 277.418 hectares and spans three villages of Kiryattete, Bulembo and Atuhumwire.

The land is occupied by more than 1,000 residents from over 300 households. He noted that the land titles for plots 18, 19 and 20 are registered in the names of Henry Muganwa Kajura.

According to Reginal Opio, the chairperson of Tuhumwei village, residents petitioned the RDC after agents of Kajura, accompanied by police officers, entered the area to conduct a survey, causing panic among residents who feared a planned land grab.

Some of the residents who attending the security meeting at Tuhumwei village.

Opio said the land title has left residents anxious and appealed to government to cancel it to protect them from eviction.

He added that the residents have lived on the land for over 40 years and were unaware that Kajura owned land in the area, alleging that the title was illegally acquired.

Scovia Achili, a mother of five and resident of the area, said the community is living in fear of imminent eviction. She appealed to government to intervene by cancelling the title and issuing residents with land titles to secure their land rights.

Kigorobya County Member of Parliament David Karubanga said he consulted the Commissioner for Lands and confirmed that the land title is registered in Kajura’s name.

He noted that the title was processed in 2010, before the current leaders assumed office, and promised to write to the Minister for Lands to seek its cancellation.

Hoima district chairperson Uthuman Mugisha Mubarak said several residents across the district are affected by land titles that were acquired illegally. However, he urged residents to remain calm, noting that some titles have been red-lined and that the law protects bibanja holders from eviction.

“These land titles were acquired before most of us became leaders, but people crucifying us over mistakes we do not know, but I want to promise you that we are going to cancel all these land titles, we are also working with the court to see that we stop eviction court orders,” he said.

In response to the residents’ concerns, RDC Mbabazi ordered all surveying activities on the land to stop immediately.

He assured residents that no evictions would take place, adding that the district security committee has begun investigations into how surveying commenced without its consent.

When contacted, Ratifu Kabuleta, the estate manager for Henry Muganwa Kajura, said the land title was lawfully acquired and that the intention was to open boundaries to establish the land’s exact extent.

He said that in October last year, boundaries for plots 19 and 20 were opened after obtaining a court order from Hoima High Court, while plot 18 remained untouched.

“There was an oversight, our workers went for boundary opening on plot 18 without informing the district land board and district security committee, so we apologise for that mistake,” he said.

Kabuleta added that the Kajura family has no intention of evicting residents, noting that after boundary opening, they will engage the district security committee to determine how the landlord and residents can coexist on the land.