LUWEERO — A tense land dispute has erupted in Nakafumu Village, Busiika Town Council in Luweero District after a widow accused a wealthy businessman of demolishing her home, destroying crops, and tampering with graves belonging to her late relatives.
Keti Nakato, 40, claims businessman Samuel Lumunya and village chairperson Samuel Mukalazi orchestrated the destruction on a one-acre plot left to her by her late husband, Koona Musisi.
“They brought young boys with iron bars and knocked down the house I was building,” Nakato said.
“At night, they even disturbed the graves and destroyed my banana plants, taking away what my children relied on.”
Nakato says the land originally belonged to her late mother-in-law, Ester Nabaggala, who purchased it and later bequeathed it to her son Koona Musisi.
Both Nabaggala and Musisi are buried on the property. She insists Lumunya has no rightful claim.
“The deceased wrote a document giving him only one acre, but now he wants the whole land,” she explained. “He is using force to chase us away.”
During a visit to the site, grave sites, including those of Musisi, his twin children Wasswa and Nakato, and Yokana, appeared tampered with.
Residents Bulayimu Lubowa, Joseph Bukenya, and Eriab Kakande Kizza confirmed longstanding tensions over the land, noting the dispute has persisted for years.
However, Lumunya denied the allegations.
“That is all lies. I bought this land 15 years ago and have every document proving ownership. These people are misleading the public,” he said, presenting a document he claims was signed by the deceased granting him the property.
Village chairperson Mukalazi also supported Lumunya’s account.
“The late owner sold this land to Lumunya. Nakato only returned to fight for it because life is hard for her,” he said.
“The graves were placed without proper arrangement, but the land belongs to Lumunya.”
As tensions rise, the affected family is appealing for urgent government intervention to prevent further conflict.