By Jay Tumwesige
Kyenjojo: The Land Committee Chairperson of Kihuura Sub-county in Kyenjojo district, Eriason Businge, has been fired over alleged fraud and irregularities.
The decision was taken by the Kihuura Sub-county councillors during their Council meeting last week.
During the meeting, the speaker Adolf Monday, informed councillors I that he received a letter from the Vice Chairperson of Nyansozi village, Chance Lord, indicating that Businge had written a report recommending one Basiima Kabonesa to get a land title for land under disputed.
“I received information that the Sub-county Lands Committee had recommended an individual to process a title for land under dispute yet in Kyenjojo we have witnessed many people die as a result of land wrangles. We can’t therefore accept the Lands Committee Chairperson to drag us into another wrangle,” Monday said.
The said contested land measures 187 hectares and sits on block 124 in Kihuura Sub-county. It covers Rweboha, Nyabusozi, Kyamunwa, Kyankaramata and Matiri villages among others.
In the letter that was read before the Council, Chance explained that about 10 years ago, Kabonesa went to court claiming ownership of this land and also sued some residents of the abovementioned villages, accusing them of encroachment.
He further stated that a ruling has since never been given and the case is still at Fort Portal High Court, but he was shocked that Businge had last week masterminded a report allowing Kabonesa to have a separate title measuring 22.65 hectares within the same land to establish an agro-processing plant.
Sunday Hadijjah and Sylvia Kezabu, members of the Lands Committee, also informed Council that they refused to sign the report after they went on the site and realized that the concerned village chairpersons where left out of the process.
“The affected villages are about six and over 3000 families are also directly affected so when we realized that the Sub-county Lands Committee Chairperson had left out the village chairpersons of the affected villages we declined to sign the documents,” said Kezabu.
However, they disclosed that Businge later looked for them individually and convinced them to sign, saying that the village chairpersons had finally agreed to stamp the report, which was actually a lie.
Businge accepted the inaccuracies but added that whatever he had done was in line with the Uganda Land Act of 1998 and the Land Regulations of 2004.
“Whoever is angered by my actions is free to go to court; whatever I did was right and even if there were some inaccuracies I followed the law, ” Businge said.
Augustine Bitamazire, the councillor representing the elderly in the Council, moved a motion asking Council to relieve Businge of his duties forthwith.
The Sub-county speaker Monday noted that the decision had been legally backed, hence he fired Businge.
After his dismissal, the Councillor tasked the Sub-county LC III chairperson, Richard Ndyanabo, to immediately find another person who will be recommended by Council to take over the office.
The Kyenjojo District Chief Administrative Officer Samuel Kaija said he was also following up the matter for a lasting solution, adding that Businge was wrong to get involved in irregularities which could cause tension in the Sub-county.
“I have heard about the complaints by councillors and I’m following it up in order to get solutions. It was very wrong for the Lands Committee Chairperson to recommend someone to get a title on a land that is still under dispute,” Kaija said.
