RUKIGA, UGANDA – Local leaders in Rukiga District have raised a stark alarm, urgently calling for government intervention to halt a wave of alleged fraudulent land acquisitions that threaten to strip communities of vital public assets.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The call was made by Frank Kyerere, the former Sheema District RDC and current Rukiga District NRM Chairperson, during a high-profile consultation meeting for an irrigation water scheme.
The meeting, held at the Rukiga district headquarters on Tuesday, was chaired by the Prime Minister of Uganda, the Rt. Hon. Robinah Nabbanja, and attended by technical staff, political leaders, and Ministers Betty Anywar (Water) and Fred Bwino (Agriculture).
Highlighting two critical cases the Rushebeya Market land and the Nyabubaare community land crisis Kyerere warned that land grabbing is becoming “rampant in the district,” threatening the stability and livelihoods of residents.
At the heart of one controversy is the Rushebeya playground, a vital 2-acre public space that serves as a playground for government schools, a sports field for the community, and the site of Rushebeya Market.
The community’s ordeal began in November 2017 when unidentified individuals first surveyed the public land.
Shortly after, inmates from Ndorwa Government Prison were deployed to fence it off an act halted by local residents who intervened and forced them to stop.
The legal roots of this dispute stretch back to 2015, when Rwamucucu Sub-County lost a case to David Gakyaro concerning illegally felled trees. Gakyaro later returned to court after the sub-county defaulted on paying the full damages.
He secured an order to attach the market land, a ruling that was finalized when the then-Chairperson, Justus Ampeire, failed to appear and testify.
A far larger dispute in Nyabubaare village now sees an individual claiming over 60 hectares of community land, asserting it belonged to his late father and placing hundreds of residents at risk.
Further complicating the matter, a woman identified as Mary Kihembo Kibahigire, presenting herself as a surviving caretaker of the late Kibahigire’s estate, has fenced off approximately 64 hectares.
Her claim has placed the long-standing community in a precarious position, facing the threat of homelessness as the case remains pending in court.
In response to Kyerere’s forceful presentation, Prime Minister Nabbanja promised immediate action, vowing to follow both land matters “to their roots” for the benefit of the affected communities.
Nabbanja further affirmed that the district will have an irrigation scheme established, linking the project to a pledge made by President Museveni on November 25, 2025.
She clarified that the irrigation project, aimed at boosting crop production and improving livelihoods, is a reward for the district’s commendable efforts in conserving the Rushebeya-Kanyabaha wetland.
The Prime Minister’s direct intervention has offered a ray of hope to the embattled communities, who now await concrete steps to secure their public land and ancestral homes from what they allege are fraudulent takeovers.
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