3 killed in Hoima land row
Jun 16, 2007
THREE people, one of them the Movement mobiliser for Kyabigambire sub-county, Hoima district, were on Thursday murdered after a violent fight over land.
By Amlan Tumusiime
THREE people, one of them the Movement mobiliser for Kyabigambire sub-county, Hoima district, were on Thursday murdered after a violent fight over land.
Joseph Kyaligonza, his brother Andrew Byaruhanga and their casual labourer, only identified as Mbabazi, were murdered and their bodies set ablaze by irate residents, who accused them of land grabbing and witchcraft.
Hoima Police said about 100 residents of Kisiita village, wielding pangas and spears, ambushed the three as they travelled to Hoima town at around 7:30am.
The residents threw them off their motorcycle before hacking them with pangas, the Police added.
The ambush took place 200 metres from Kyaligonza’s home and about 100 metres to Kisiita trading centre.
“After the killing, the group raided Kyaligonza’s home and set his house, a saloon car and motorcycle ablaze,†Hoima Police chief Andrew Gidoi said. The Police estimated the value of the destroyed property at sh26m.
The Police buried the charred bodies in shallow graves at Kyaligonza’s home.
Kyaligonza had on Wednesday reported to the Police a plot by his relatives and the residents to kill him in connection to witchcraft and land grabbing. He also reported to the area LC2 chairman, Earnest Tibagwa.
Earlier, 14 houses had been burnt under unclear circumstances but the residents blamed the incident on Kyaligonza’s “demons.â€
The Police have since arrested 20 suspects including the Kisiita village chairman, Aaron Irumba.
Kyaligonza’s uncle, Isingoma, was also arrested after the Police recovered a 20-litre jerrycan of petrol from his home. Twenty of the suspects now detained are women.
In the past few months, violent land wrangles have rocked Hoima and the neighbouring districts of Buliisa and Kibaale leading to a number of deaths.
THREE people, one of them the Movement mobiliser for Kyabigambire sub-county, Hoima district, were on Thursday murdered after a violent fight over land.
Joseph Kyaligonza, his brother Andrew Byaruhanga and their casual labourer, only identified as Mbabazi, were murdered and their bodies set ablaze by irate residents, who accused them of land grabbing and witchcraft.
Hoima Police said about 100 residents of Kisiita village, wielding pangas and spears, ambushed the three as they travelled to Hoima town at around 7:30am.
The residents threw them off their motorcycle before hacking them with pangas, the Police added.
The ambush took place 200 metres from Kyaligonza’s home and about 100 metres to Kisiita trading centre.
“After the killing, the group raided Kyaligonza’s home and set his house, a saloon car and motorcycle ablaze,†Hoima Police chief Andrew Gidoi said. The Police estimated the value of the destroyed property at sh26m.
The Police buried the charred bodies in shallow graves at Kyaligonza’s home.
Kyaligonza had on Wednesday reported to the Police a plot by his relatives and the residents to kill him in connection to witchcraft and land grabbing. He also reported to the area LC2 chairman, Earnest Tibagwa.
Earlier, 14 houses had been burnt under unclear circumstances but the residents blamed the incident on Kyaligonza’s “demons.â€
The Police have since arrested 20 suspects including the Kisiita village chairman, Aaron Irumba.
Kyaligonza’s uncle, Isingoma, was also arrested after the Police recovered a 20-litre jerrycan of petrol from his home. Twenty of the suspects now detained are women.
In the past few months, violent land wrangles have rocked Hoima and the neighbouring districts of Buliisa and Kibaale leading to a number of deaths.