Presidential candidate Mubarack Munyagwa has accused unidentified State House operatives of misleading President Yoweri Museveni on the long-running land disputes in the Acholi sub-region.
Speaking to reporters before heading to Rukungiri on his campaign trail, Munyagwa claimed that the President was given distorted information regarding Banyankole families who settled in Acholi after buying land from local leaders and residents.
According to Munyagwa, these settlers were later branded land grabbers based on reports engineered by influential individuals within government, who allegedly sought to dispossess them and eventually take over the same land.
“These were ordinary Ugandans who bought land genuinely and peacefully settled in Acholi. But because some influential people wanted that land, they fabricated stories and misled the President,” Munyagwa said.
“What we are seeing now is not justice — it is corruption and greed at the highest levels.”
President Museveni has in recent years ordered investigations and evictions in some parts of Acholi following complaints over illegal land acquisition and the displacement of native communities.
Munyagwa insists those directives were issued on the basis of misinformation.
The former Kawempe South legislator criticised what he termed State House interference in northern land matters and urged an independent review of transactions in the region to establish the truth and protect both native Acholi communities and settlers.
“Uganda belongs to all of us,” he said. “We cannot continue using tribes and regions to divide citizens or justify land theft. The Acholi people and the Banyankole settlers deserve fairness and the rule of law.”
Land matters in Acholi have been highly contentious for decades, particularly after the return of residents from internally displaced people’s camps following the end of the Lord’s Resistance Army conflict.
Government inquiries, including a 2021 presidential directive, have sought to address allegations of illegal occupation and manipulation of customary land ownership.
However, disputes remain politically sensitive and often draw ethnic undertones.
Munyagwa’s comments come as presidential campaigns intensify ahead of the 2026 general elections.
State House had not responded to his allegations by press time.
