Angry residents of Bwera LC1 in Kyangwali sub-county Kikuube district have turned violent, killed 40 heads of cattle and burnt four houses belonging to Pastor George Baguma commonly known as Kagenyi of Bwera Miracle Church. 

The violence started following the arrest of five people in the area by the State House Land Protection Unit.

The arrest came after a petition filed by Baguma calling for the eviction of the people that had encroached on his land.

According to him,  a group of people led by his brother George Kabuhanda, encroached on his land. He later acquired a court order to evict the people from his land, but the group vehemently refused to vacate.

This forced him to seek the intervention of the State House Land Protection Unit, which on Wednesday morning stormed the area and arrested five suspects. The arrest of the five suspects angered residents who turned rowdy.

The locals first blocked the road for hours stopping the unit from taking the suspects until when the State House Land Protection Unit fired in the air and dispersed angry residents.

one of the local leaders showing the house that was burnt during the attack

After the State House Land Protection Unit left the area, the angry residents attacked the farm of Baguma and started cutting the animals leaving 40 dead.

The residents also acceded the house of the Baguma and burnt four of his houses leaving several properties including two motorcycles and bicycles destroyed.

Recently, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Jane Frances Abodo dropped the murder charges against Pastor George Baguma which the residents protested.

The residents accuse pastor Baguma and seven other people of murdering John Turyamureba.

However, Baguma denies the allegations saying that the residents are framing such allegations against him with the intention of taking his land.

H called on the government to intervene in his matter adding that his family had deserted their home because of threats of murdering him and his family.

He explains that during the attack, one of his casual workers went missing and he suspects that he was killed by the mob.

The RDC Kikuube Amlan Tumusiime blamed the violence on the State House land protection unit whom he accused of going to affect the arrest of the suspects without informing the Kikuube district security committee to offer them a backup.

He also blamed the residents for taking the law into their hands adding that he was for several times enraged by the locals to leave the court to settle this matter but they have continued to take the law into their hands.

By press time, Police, UPDF, and RDC Tumusiime had camped in the area to calm down the situation and the entire village had been deserted by residents.