Written By | BK Mugizi
Phionah Barungi, the presidential Assistant on special operations, addressing residents
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BUSHENYI
The Senior Presidential Assistant for Special Duties, Phionah Barungi, has intervened in a land dispute involving residents of six villages in Nyabubare Sub-county, Bushenyi District, over approximately 640 acres of land.
Barungi intervened during a meeting held on Thursday in Nkuuna II with residents from Kahungye I, Kahungye II, Nkuuna II, Kiyagara I, Kitojo I, and Kitojo II villages in Kahungye Parish, who complained about threats to evict them from the land they occupy.
The residents alleged that a group of four people, led by Kahungye I LC1 chairperson Tumuheirwe Yoramu, was attempting to take control of the land. The four people accused by the residents did not attend the meeting.
The dispute stems from a court case involving Kituutu Enoch, a resident of the area, over approximately 18 acres of land. Kituutu said he bought the 18 acres from his late uncle in 1985 for Shs350.
"My late uncle sold me the land. However, before I bought it, there was a dip tank on part of the land, where farmers used to take their cattle for dipping," Kituutu said.
He said his late uncle had allowed farmers to use part of the land for the dip tank after they complained about traveling long distances to the sub-county headquarters to dip their cattle.
According to Kituutu, the farmers later started claiming ownership of the land where the dip tank was located. He said their claim was separate from his ownership of the 18 acres he had bought from his late uncle.
The farmers sued Kituutu in 2015 over the land dispute.
The case was heard at the Bushenyi High Court, which delivered its judgment on December 22, 2021, and ordered the eviction of the occupants.
However, the dispute later expanded, with claims involving approximately 640 acres and residents from the six villages.
Edward Ishungisa, the LC1 chairperson of Nkuuna II, said residents were living in fear of losing their homes and property and appealed to the Government to intervene.
"We are living in fear because we do not know what will happen to our homes and property. We appeal to the Government to intervene and protect residents from being displaced," Ishungisa said.
Peace Kansiime Tibigwisa, from the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) for Greater Bushenyi, criticized the handling of the case, saying the judge delivered the judgment without visiting the locus, referring to the disputed land.
"The court should have visited the locus before delivering the judgment so that the circumstances on the ground could be properly understood," Tibigwisa said.
She urged judges handling land disputes to always visit the locus before making their judgments, saying this would help them appreciate the situation on the ground.
The Bushenyi District Deputy Resident Commissioner, Kasigazi Donanto, told Barungi that land grabbers sometimes take advantage of residents with limited access to legal services.
He said some residents were disadvantaged because they could not afford to travel to distant courts, including Mbarara and Kampala, where some cases are transferred.
"Sometimes you find that residents do not know the date for mentioning the case or judgment because they do not report to court due to the long distances," he said.
State House petition
The dispute had earlier been taken to the Office of the President. In a letter dated July 15, 2025, members of the Karama Dip Tank Farmers Association petitioned President Yoweri Museveni over the approximately 640 acres.
According to the letter, the farmers alleged that Kituutu had refused to vacate the land despite the judgment delivered by the Bushenyi High Court on December 22, 2021.
The letter summoned Kituutu and other parties to a meeting at State House on August 1, 2025, before State House counsel Ayebare Glorious, to discuss how the dispute could be resolved.
It also directed that transactions involving the disputed land be put on hold until the matter was resolved.
However, Barungi questioned the authenticity of the State House letter, saying it was not signed by Flora Kiconco, the Principal Private Secretary to the President.
"When you look at this letter, it was signed on Kiconco's behalf. When such letters are signed on someone's behalf, they should bear the name and signature of the person who actually signed them," Barungi said.
"Secondly, if it was Kiconco, as someone who works in the President's office, she would not have signed such a letter to evict residents, yet she knows that evictions were halted by the President," she added.
Barungi said residents should not be evicted from the disputed land before the matter is properly resolved through the relevant legal and administrative processes.
She urged the parties to follow the proper legal and administrative procedures to resolve the dispute.
Barungi warns LC1 chairpersons
Barungi also warned LC1 chairpersons against unlawfully involving themselves in land matters, saying those who interfere in land matters could be arrested.
"In most land cases, LC1 chairpersons mess up in handling such matters. I will start arresting them because they don't want to listen. The President said this is Kisanja no sleep and no corruption.
"Therefore, we shall whip out LC1 chairpersons who mess up land matters," she said.
