Rubanda district officials stepped in to mediate a land dispute involving Hon. Akampurira Mbabazi Prossy, a commissioner of parliament, and her husband Apollo Mbabazi. Accusations have been made by some locals, asserting that the commissioner’s family encroached over 15 meters into public land. The disputed land borders the residence of the commissioner, who also serves as the Rubanda district woman MP in Karegyere parish, Muko sub county, Rubanda West constituency.
The Muko sub county chief, Rebecca Kehooda, accused certain leaders of altering the boundaries of the public land, contending that what she inspected on April 19 last year differed from the current situation. Kehooda, also serving as the secretary for Muko sub county land committee, insisted that the commissioner’s family had encroached on government land.
Haruna Mutabazi, 50, and Kamugisha Steven supported Kehooda’s claims. The former Muko sub county chairman accused the area councillor of collaborating to sell government land. In response, Muko sub county chairperson Patrick Abeneitwe defended Hon. Prossy, asserting that the land in question belonged to Jeffrey Bature. Abeneitwe urged against playing divisive politics and called for peaceful coexistence in Karegyere.
The situation escalated, leading to the firing of the former Muko sub county chairman, who was instructed to focus on Rubanda town council. Rubanda district’s physical planner, Timothy Niwebyona, urged locals to participate in community meetings. He questioned the motives behind the land dispute, highlighting that a community survey conducted three months ago did not yield any complaints.
Elly Mucunguzi, the principal assistant secretary at Rubanda district, inquired if there were other complaints of land grabbing, to which only sub county chief Rebecca Kehooda raised concerns. Efforts to reach Jeffrey Baturine, the father-in-law of the commissioner’s family, proved futile as he was unavailable during the community meeting.