Kikuube land conflict involving late soldier family sucks in MPs
Feb 28, 2024
The MPs on Sunday, February 25, 2024, rushed to the area and held a meeting with the locals. It was from this meeting that they ordered the halting of all activities on the contested land and called for a fresh boundary opening.
Resident attending the meeting organized by the local leaders and the law makers. (Photos by Peter Abaanabasazi)
Peter Abaanabasazi
Journalist @New Vision
__________________ Kikuube district MP Natumanya Addressing the residents during the meeting
The conflict involving the late Brig. Gen. David Kaboyo’s family has taken a new twist after the area Members of Parliament demanded for fresh boundary opening of the contested land.
The contested land located in Mugamba village in Kyangwali sub-county was claimed by a group of people led by Matia Kyaligonza and the family members of the late Kaboyo.
The MPs on Sunday, February 25, 2024, rushed to the area and held a meeting with the locals. It was from this meeting that they ordered the halting of all activities on the contested land and called for a fresh boundary opening.
Kaboyo, who was also a Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom prince died in 2021 and was buried at Mparo Royal Tombs in Hoima West division in Hoima city. It is here, too, that Bunyoro King (Omukama) Kabalega was buried.
The deceased was among the bush war fighters and remembered for his effort in fighting Allied Democratic Forces rebels in the Rwenzori region. He also served as military head of security in the oil and gas sector in the Albertine region.
Background to the conflict
The dispute over the 53 acres, started last year after the family of the late Kaboyo led by Ruth Kaboyo, the widow, developed an interest in using the land.
According to her letter addressed to Kikuube Resident District Commissioner Amlan Tumusiime, dated January 5, 2024, the widow claims that her late husband acquired the land after the son of late Nyanduru, one Tadeo Kusemererwa sold the land to him at a cost of shillings 1.2 million.
She explained that after the death of her husband, the family resolved to start using the land but Kyaligonza who was hired in 2005 as caretaker of the land, and his group denied them access to the land.
In the process of solving the conflict, the boundary-opening exercise was conducted. However, Kyaligonza and his group contested against the exercise claiming that the boundaries opened went beyond the known boundaries of Kaboyo’s land. As a result, Kyaligonza and his group petitioned Kikuube District Woman MP Florence Natumanya and Buhaguzi County MP Francis Kazini.
The meeting
Speaking during a community meeting organised by Bernard Mugisa, the Mugamba village LC1 chairperson, said the boundary opening exercise was conducted without the involvement of local leaders and claimants of the land.
He added that after the opening of the boundaries, Kaboyo’s widow deployed a group of over 30 people to cultivate the land. He claimed that the group was harassing the community and denying them access to the land and demanded that leaders intervene.
In the response, MP Natumanya ordered that all the people deployed on the land be withdrawn and stop clearing the contested land until the matter is solved.
She appealed to Kaboyo’s family to use peaceful means if they wanted to utilise the land and demanded a fresh boundary-opening exercise that would involve all leaders and affected people.
"My colleague and I are MPs and the local leader has agreed that all conflicting parties stop using the land until the issue gets settled. We are requesting the widow and the children of late Kaboyo to come on the ground, we are also going to be there, we discuss to see that we reopen the boundaries because there is a lot of conflict people accusing the family of going beyond their land,” she said.
Kazini said halting all activities on the land was necessary to ensure peace in the area and promised to engage the late Kaboyo’s family to see that they conduct a fresh boundary-opening exercise.
Kaboyo’s family was not in this meeting to respond to the allegation where the residents claimed that boundaries moved into their land during the boundary-opening exercise.
However, recently Ruth Kaboyo said that Kyaligonza was hired by her late husbands to take care of the land but after the death of her husband Kaboyo, Kyalingonza turned against the Kaboyo family and denied them access to the land claiming the land belonged to him.
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