Several people injured in Lwemiyaga over land conflict

LWEMIYAGA - Several people have been injured during the troubling 40-year land conflict at Ntyozo village in Lwemiyaga County, Ssembabule district. The development follows Lands State Minister Sam Mayanja cancelling his locus meeting in the area.

Over 100 families displaced by the land conflict at Ntyazo opted to force their way back to their respective bibanja on February 7 and 8, 2026, where they had been evicted between 2021 and 2022.

The clash was mainly at the farm of Vicencio Bagalukayo, who is accused of being behind the eviction of over 100 families from Ntyanzo village, where his workers engaged the returnees.

Anti-riot Police and soldiers have been deployed in the area to prevent bloodshed.
The affected residents had relocated to the nearby St Ann Church, where they took shelter with their families and cows.  

Date set

Minister Mayanja had set February 12 as the date to intervene in the matter, where he invited authorities from the State House, Anti-Corruption Unit, Police and other stakeholders.

However, the locals told New Vision Online that they opted to force their way back to their respective homes after receiving information that Minister Mayanja had cancelled his visit.

Ssembabule Resident District Commissioner (RDC) Jane Frances Kagayi confirmed the developments, saying Mayanja had communicated about his changes in the programme to pave the way for a legal team to verify some concerns regarding the affected land case.

“It was wrong for the affected families to force their way back to the land, which also had other occupants; they should have waited for the Minister to handle the process. I believe that the mediation was going to create a win-win achievement between the two parties,” she said.

Kagayi said the affected residents and their families last year met President Museveni, who listened to their concerns. New Vision Online learnt that President Museveni dispatched a team to investigate the matter.

Umar Kalanzi, one of the affected residents who lost his house during the conflict, said the problem was worsened by the failure of the RDC's office to protect the affected locals from brutal eviction.

New Vision Online learnt that despite the warrant to stay eviction before the Supreme Court, suspected criminal gangs have continued to raid the affected families, forcing them to abandon their homes and seek shelter in the church. (Credit: Dismus Buregyeya)

“There was a directive from IGP to stay execution from Court, the office of the RDC failed to protect the affected families, a matter that has resulted in untold suffering and bloodshed,” he said.

Mayanja, in his letter dated January 27, addressed to the Ssembabule RDC, had set February 12 as the date when he would conduct a locus visit meeting at Ntyazo block 31 plot 1 and Block 30 plot 2. 

In the letter minister Mayanja said he would also utilise the opportunity to sensitise the people on their land rights and the Presidential directives on Bibanja holders.

Lands minister's visit

Lands minister Judith Nabakoba last year intervened in the escalating land wrangles in Ssembabule that have turned violent. Suspected criminal elements in Ntyazo village, Lwemiyaga county, forced families to flee their homes.

New Vision Online learnt that despite the warrant to stay eviction before the Supreme Court, suspected criminal gangs have continued to raid the affected families, forcing them to abandon their homes and seek shelter in the church.

Member of Parliament Theodore Ssekikubo, who initially spearheaded the mediation between the affected communities and the landlords, said the matter has turned political. 

“I bought land from Bagalukayo Mukasa after he defeated the affected people in courts,” he said.

He purchased at least 180 acres and sold his 68 cows in the process. He explained that he went ahead and negotiated with Bagarukayo to surrender at least 300 acres for the affected community.

“To my surprise, some of the community members led by Robert Tayebwa rejected the offer,” he said. The Ssembabule district council chairperson, Patrick Nkalubo, told New Vision Online that the land conflicts on the affected land will ultimately be resolved by a land fund initiative to protect the affected community from eviction.

Robert Tayebwa is among the said land claimants battling the land dispute with Bagalukayo before a Supreme Court Judge panel that includes Justice Esther Kisakye, Stella Arach Amoko, PaulMugamba Percy Tuhaise and Mike Chibita.

The Supreme Court Judge panel on July 22, 2022, ordered a stay of execution of the earlier court order pending the determination of Supreme Court civil application filed by Tayebwa over the matter.