In Kassanda district, two private security guards carrying firearms and three additional individuals have been apprehended due to alleged damage to property in a land dispute. The arrests took place over the weekend concerning significant property destruction at Kyakasengula village, located in Nalutuntu Sub County, Kassanda district.
Eriphaz Kato, the village LC1 chairperson, expressed, “They brought graders to the village earlier, but we did not know why. We were then surprised to see a group of people, guarded by armed men as they went to destroy our gardens.” He added, “Acres of crops, trees, and other properties were destroyed before the local leaders called for the Police to intervene. We tried to appeal to them to stop, but they were so rough, and in the process, two women fainted as they saw their crops being destroyed.”
The land in question is reported to belong to an individual named Nteza, who is said to have negotiated with a few squatters, sharing part of the land with them and providing land titles. However, the rest of the squatters were not informed about these developments.
Benedicto Yiga, one of the residents, noted that many squatters had been paying ground rent in previous years. Nevertheless, the landlord rejected the money over the past two years.
Following these events, the district security committee visited the village to investigate the situation. District Police commander Robert Tashobya confirmed on Sunday that they had arrested those involved, including the armed private security guards, but they were still searching for their boss.
Kassanda Deputy Resident District Commissioner, Faridah Bbosa, disclosed that Nteza had requested permission to develop his land at the beginning of the week. She stated, “We told him to wait until we reply to him after establishing the facts about this land, and so we came to see what is here. As we returned, we gave him up to Wednesday next week to respond to him, but we were surprised to see this.”
On Monday, the district team plans to send valuers to assess the losses suffered by each resident as the investigations continue.
