Land grabbing on the rise during lockdown

Unscrupulous individuals are taking advantage of the ongoing Covid-19 lockdown to grab other people’s land, Daily Monitor has learnt.

Ms Isabel Kabanda (not real names), a Facebook user took to her account last week and lamented about her immediate neighbour in Nansana, a Kampala suburb, who had encroached on her plot of land.

Ms Kabanda said her neighbour had taken advantage of the ongoing Covid-19 lockdown where people are not moving, to commit the crime.

“Good people, ensure you regularly check on your plots of land as unscrupulous people are taking advantage of this Covid-19 lockdown to grab other people’s land. This is my appeal,” Ms Kabanda wrote to her Facebook friends.

Ms Kabanda is not the only one facing this challenge. Advocate Anthony Wameli, has two cases related to the same issue that his clients are facing.

Counsel Wameli, says one of his clients was surprised when the person he had sued before courts of law for grabbing his land, took advantage of the lockdown to encroach on the said disputed land and he was putting up a structure.

“Many of the Kampala and Wakiso plots have issues and it is unfortunate that President Museveni in his last address, allowed hardware shops to re-open and construction to go on. This will greatly fuel land grabbing during this lockdown period by such unscrupulous people,” Counsel Wameli said yesterday in an interview.

The Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson, Mr Patrick Onyango, when contacted yesterday, said land transactions and disputed land developments, were halted by government in this lockdown period.

“Police were advised not to witness any eviction orders until the Covid-19 operations are over,” Mr Onyango said yesterday.

He added: “Police officers are supposed to advise both parties to wait until the crisis is over. We are supposed to stop any development in a disputed land at the moment. They should wait for courts to resume so that they can claim whatever they want to claim.”

Background

Directive. Mid-last month, Lands minister Beti Olive Kamya, halted all land transactions during the ongoing lockdown. Ms Kamya explained that the government had been informed of impending land evictions of tenants, registered land and customary land owners in various parts of the country.