Mukono land dealer charged in court over forcible entry

MUKONO - A renowned land dealer in Mukono district has been charged with forcible entry into the land and conspiracy to commit an offence at a court in Nakifuma County and remanded until April 28, 2025.

Edward Kityo Seruma and Yusuf Kazibwe were arraigned in the Grade One Magistrates Court on Wednesday (April 9) by the State House Anti-Corruption Unit (SHACU) along with the Criminal Investigations Directorate and the Office of the Directorate of Public Prosecutions.

SHACU said in a statement that the accused and others still at large, between 2020 and 2023, violently entered the Kibanja (plot) belonging to Martin Kamundu in Nakasajja village, Kyampisi sub-county, Mukono and destroyed property, trees and crops with the intent of taking possession of it.

“They went ahead and conspired with one of the administrators of the land, subdivided it into plots and sold it to different persons,” it said on X, formerly Twitter.

The latest Police data shows that a total of 397 cases of land-related crimes were reported in 2024, up from 271 the previous year.

This gives a 46.5% increase in the crimes reported in this category, the 2024 annual crime report says.

By the end of 2024, a total of 64 cases were taken to court, 103 not proceeded with and 230 were still under inquiry by the time of compiling the report.

Out of the total cases taken to court, 12 were convictions, five were acquittals, four were dismissed, and 43 were still pending.

The report also shows that there was a 46% increase in cases of land fraud, from 271 reported to the Police countrywide in 2023 compared to 397 cases reported in 2024.

“The most offences committed in this category are fraudulent procuration of certificate of title and obtaining registration by false pretences, criminal trespass, obtaining money by false pretences and forgery, among others,” the report says.