A land dispute in Naluwala village, Ntenjeru Kisoga Town Council, has spiralled into violence, leaving a trail of destruction and fear after unknown assailants set fire to a church, razed a video hall, and vandalised gardens during a night-time raid under cover of heavy rain.
The Goshen Discipleship Church, led by Pastor Annet Kigozi, was completely burnt to the ground, destroying furniture, Bibles, musical instruments, and sound equipment.
“They came in the night while we slept,” Pastor Kigozi told this reporter.
“This is the house of God, and they burnt it to the ground. We heard them but feared to confront them. They are trying to drive us off this land. The damage runs into millions of shillings.”
The same attack saw a video hall belonging to Samuel Kiyimba, a local resident, torched. Kiyimba estimates his losses at over Shs7 million and says he lawfully acquired the land through the Buganda Land Board.
“I bought this land legally from the Buganda Land Board,” Kiyimba said. “Now everything I worked for is gone.”
In the aftermath of the violence, victims surveyed the damage to their crops, including a tomato garden owned by Rahuma Wamala.
Wamala said she had used capital from the Parish Development Model and her personal savings to set up the project, which is now completely destroyed.
“My garden was my livelihood,” she said tearfully. “Now I have nothing. The authorities need to act before things get worse.”
Several residents blame the incident on a protracted land feud involving a man identified as Esperito Musoke and his family.
They claim Musoke is attempting to reclaim the two-acre plot through violent intimidation, and allege that a man named Emanuel Zigobye, who they say has links to the Special Forces Command (SFC), has been patrolling the area armed, harassing residents and pressuring them to vacate their land.
“We have the documents to prove we own this land,” said one resident, who asked not to be named due to security concerns.
“If government doesn’t intervene, we’ll be forced to protect ourselves.”
The Buganda Land Board has weighed in on the conflict. Isma Semogerere, the acting manager of the Board in Kyaggwe, confirmed that the land is officially under the Kingdom’s jurisdiction and that the courts had already ruled in favour of the Buganda Land Board in a previous case involving Musoke.
“That land used to be a weekly market under the Buganda Kingdom in the 1960s,” Semogerere said.
“A legal judgment already determined that it belongs to the Buganda Kingdom and its current occupants acquired it properly.”
Police have since arrested three suspects in connection with the attack. They are detained at Mukono Division Police Station.
However, local leaders in Ntenjeru have yet to publicly address the violence, leaving residents feeling abandoned.
With tension mounting and livelihoods lost, affected residents are pleading for urgent intervention from security and land authorities to prevent further bloodshed and enforce existing legal decisions.
“This is no longer just about land — people are living in fear, and churches are being burnt,” said one resident.
“If no one steps in, things will get out of hand.”