Residents of Bukerekere village in Kakiri Sub-county, Wakiso District, have accused a wealthy businessman, the local council chairperson and a landlord of using a grader, with police backing, to destroy their food crops and ancestral burial grounds in an ongoing land dispute.
The affected families, who belong to the Mamba Kakoboza clan, say the destruction has left them destitute and traumatised.
“We no longer have food. Everything we depended on was destroyed,” said clan elder Kamunye Constantine Kibumbi, fighting back tears. “They even destroyed our grandparents’ graves. This land is our home and our history.”
Kibumbi, whom we found at the clan’s shrine in Bukerekere village, said the family shrine had earlier been burnt down and property inside destroyed, before some structures were later rebuilt.
“These people come with force and say we must leave. They beat us, arrest our children and threaten to kill us if we don’t vacate the land,” he said.
He identified those involved as businessman Abubaker Ssendegeya, Bukerekere village chairperson David Nyanzi, and landlord Moses Kanonya Nankere, a native of Mamba Kakoboza.
Several family members, including David Mukasa (57), Joyce Nasimbwa (62), Spacioza Nabitaka (67), Margaret Nakakande (50), Salongo Sande and Denes Kizito, said police from Kakiri arrested and detained some of them during the eviction.
“They tell us, ‘leave the land or we kill you,’” Nasimbwa said. “Now our gardens are gone. We have no food and no money for school fees.”
Residents said crops including bananas, cassava, coffee, sweet potatoes and fruit trees were destroyed on about two acres of land. They also pointed out several graves that were flattened during the operation, kneeling beside them as they wept.
“This is where we buried our parents,” Mukasa said. “How can someone destroy graves like they are nothing?”
The affected families have appealed to Wakiso Resident District Commissioner Justine Mbabazi, Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja, President Yoweri Museveni and land authorities to intervene.
“We are tired of suffering,” Kibumbi said. “We want the government to protect us before more blood is shed.”
Bukerekere LC1 chairperson David Nyanzi confirmed he was present during the incident but said the matter involves a long-standing land dispute.
“There are legal issues surrounding this land which people should understand,” Nyanzi said, declining to give further details.
Reached by phone, businessman Abubaker Ssendegeya denied involvement in the destruction of crops.
“These people are my neighbours,” he said. “The vehicles were only parked in my compound. I did not order anyone to destroy.”
