Still mourning her husband and recovering from illness, Sylvia Nalubega was forced to sleep outside the house they had shared for 16 years—locked out by her in-laws just four days after his burial.
The cruel eviction in Mityana’s Kibibi Garage A village has drawn outrage and prompted swift intervention from Deputy Resident District Commissioner (RDC) Prossy Mwanjuzi, who described the act as both illegal and inhumane.
Nalubega’s husband, Stephen Lwere, had recently succumbed to injuries from a road accident.
At the time of his death, Nalubega was receiving treatment in her ancestral village after a prolonged illness.
But upon her return to mourn, she found herself dispossessed and accused by her in-laws of abandoning her husband during his final days.
“I was still sick when I received the news of the accident. I rushed back as soon as I could, but by then it was too late,” Nalubega said, holding back tears.
She returned to find her husband buried and the house she once called home firmly locked by relatives.
Left without shelter, she was discovered days later seated outside with a few belongings, disoriented and vulnerable.
Word of the situation quickly reached Mwanjuzi, who visited the scene in person and condemned the eviction in strong terms.
“This is not only heartless—it is illegal,” Mwanjuzi said.
“Relatives have no right to use force to claim property. If they had concerns, they should have gone through proper legal channels. What they did was an abuse of both the law and human dignity.”
She added that the district office would open criminal charges against those responsible, stressing the need to uphold widows’ rights.
“Widows are protected under the law. No one has the authority to evict a surviving spouse without due process. We are taking this up seriously.”
The RDC’s stance has won praise from women’s rights activists, who say Nalubega’s story is tragically common in Uganda, where widows are often sidelined or stripped of property once their spouses die.
“The law recognises a widow’s right to marital property,” said Sarah Adoch, a legal officer with a local women’s advocacy group.
“But in many cases, culture overrides justice, and women suffer in silence. It’s time to end this impunity.”
Nalubega is currently being housed by well-wishers as district authorities work to resolve the matter.
Mwanjuzi has promised to secure temporary shelter and legal support for her while investigations continue.
As the country moves toward embracing a more rights-based approach to inheritance and family justice, the case in Mityana has reignited debate about the urgent need for enforcement of widow protections enshrined in Ugandan law.