Land wrangles fuelling

Jul 02, 2008

BUSHENYI<br><br>Recently, four members of a family in Nyabubare sub-county, Bushenyi district, were hacked and burnt to death. This brings the number of murder cases in the district this year to 35. Chris Ahimbisibwe explores why murder cases are on the rise

BUSHENYI

Recently, four members of a family in Nyabubare sub-county, Bushenyi district, were hacked and burnt to death. This brings the number of murder cases in the district this year to 35. Chris Ahimbisibwe explores why murder cases are on the rise

If the rampant murder cases in Bushenyi are not checked, the district will lose its prestige. It has been known as a model district.

Several families have been attacked at night, cut to death and their houses set on fire. The Police chief, Maj. Gen. Kale Kayihura, has intervened and promised to restore security to the district.

According to the district leaders and security officials, land wrangles are the major cause of conflicts. The resident district commissioner (RDC)’s office registers about 10 land cases everyday.

Land is becoming a problem due to the increasing population. Bushenyi’s population growth rate is at 2% per annum.

According to the district police commander, Peter Onyura, about 80% of the murder cases in the district are land-related.

According to last year’s crime report, 90 people were killed in the district. Eighty-one murder cases were reported, out of which only 39 were referred to court. Igara and Sheema counties register more murder cases.

District leaders have appealed to the Government to solve the land wrangles. The district speaker, Joram Tibasimwa, says: “The Government should resettle families in areas where there is plenty of land so that people stop killing each other.”

Tibasimwa argues that due to lack of land, agriculture production in Bushenyi has dropped.

Who is to blame for the murders?
According to the RDC, John Maliro, in some cases, one party hires a lawyer, while the other party, which does not have the capacity to engage a lawyer ends up losing the case.

“Courts delay to solve cases and as a result, residents resort to violence,” Maliro notes.

He cites the land case that was reported in 1988 and was dismissed in 1995 because the magistrate did not have jurisdiction of the case. “We are spending a lot of time on solving land cases so that we reduce violence,” he says.

Maliro also blames the local council courts for the increasing murder cases in the district. He says they mishandle land cases because they do not want to lose their votes.

LC3 courts have not yet fully internalised the Land Act which Maliro says has led to a flop of some land cases. He says LC3 courts are denying aggrieved parties who want to appeal to the High Court, fair judgment.

The Kichwamba sub-county, the LC3 chairperson, Philly Matsiko, says some of the cases, especially land-related ones, are complicated for the LCs to handle. “We refer some cases to court because we cannot handle them,” Matsiko says.

But sub-county land committee courts were recently established to handle these cases. “We, the local leaders, no longer handle land-related cases. Independent land courts were established, but the members are not aware of what they are supposed to do,” he explains.

Ephraim Kashaija, the Rwakanyonyi village LCI chairperson, says the reason some cases are not resolved is because the complainants do not respect the LCI court decisions. Maliro recently appealed to the residents to demarcate their land, have it surveyed and given land titles. He also advised parents to write wills in order to avoid wrangles over their property.

“People should stop the culture of saying that Banyankole cannot live with other tribes,” Maliro advised.

The district chairman, Longino Ndyanabo, appealed to the Inspector General of Police, Kayihura to post more policemen to Bushenyi. The ratio of policemen to the residents is 1:1,200.

Other politicians argue that because of the large size of the district, the leaders have failed to fully penetrate their villages to sensitise people about their rights and how to avoid land wrangles.

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