A Kayunga land dispute has escalated into a battle over justice, police accountability, and political interference. The conflict centers on a 100-acre property in Butalabuna Village, which Ms Penina Awori Mulindwa acquired in 2016 to build a hospital and orphanage.
Tenants on the land have refused to leave. They demand compensation, though they have not produced any legal proof of ownership. Ms Awori claims she sent money through a local leader, but the tenants say they never received it. As tensions rose, so did property damage and legal drama.
In a petition dated June 25, Ms Awori accused officers at Kayunga Central Police Station of interfering with justice. She said they removed three suspects—charged with malicious damage—from court cells just before their appearance. Among them was Butalabuna Chairperson Samuel Ssekanza.
“To my utter dismay,” she wrote, “police officers withdrew the suspects from court custody without legal grounds and returned them to CPS Kayunga.” She later discovered that the suspects had been released on police bond under suspicious circumstances.
A Political Twist in the Dispute
Ms Awori asked the Inspector General of Police to discipline any officers involved. Meanwhile, Kayunga RDC Mariam Seguya and NRM Chairperson Moses Karangwa defended the police, saying the suspects were entitled to bond and were being treated unfairly.
In April, State Minister for Lands Sam Mayanja visited the site. He told the tenants to remain on the land, a move Ms Awori believes emboldened them. After that visit, she says, they vandalized partially built structures. Police later arrested the suspects involved.
When contacted, Kayunga CPS declined to comment. They referred reporters to Ssezibwa Regional Police Spokesperson Hellen Butoto, who said she hadn’t received a formal report but promised an investigation.
A Community Divided by Land
Ms Awori is urging leaders to support her development efforts. “The project they are fighting will create jobs and improve health care in this area,” she said.
Kayunga District, especially in the cattle corridor areas of Bbaale County, is no stranger to violent land disputes. Some have left families homeless. Others have ended in bloodshed. This latest Kayunga land dispute now serves as a test of Uganda’s legal system and how it handles competing land claims in politically sensitive areas.
For more on Uganda’s rising land tensions, see how a family blocked a burial in Wakiso, or how President Museveni condemned land grabbing and corruption. You can also read about a Wakiso church land row and a landmark Stanbic Bank mortgage ruling affecting property law.
