MITYANA. Lands Minister Judith Nbakooba has halted pending eviction on a disputed piece of land owned by Mengo Hospital .
The disputed land measuring 278acres is located at Gayaza Village, Banda Town Council . Mityana District .The bigger portion of the land is covered by eucalyptus and pine trees and under the control and management of Mengo Hospital.
Meeting the affected residents at Gayaza Village on Tuesday ,Ms Nabakooba said her ministry is in talks with management of Mengo Hospital to consider taking government compensation and leave the sitting tenants to settle on the land peacefully.
“ Iam here to bring you a message of hope , don’t fear that anyone will evict you from their Bibanja ,no way . The government is in talks with the owners of this land and soon it will be bought and you settle peacefully ” She said amid thunderous ululations from residents Nabakooba’s visit to the area followed complaints from residents that agents of Mengo Hospital had served numerous eviction notices to them yet they have no where to relocate .
According to residents , some have settled on the land for over four decades and their grandfathers graves are also located in the area.
“The hospital management had no resettlement plan and they consider us as trespassers which is unfair .We thank the minister for intervening in this and pray that the talks with hospital management bear fruit ,” Mzee Kezekia Nakirigya ,said
In a letter dated October 2023 ,addressed to residents ,Mengo Hospital management argued that a big of its land had been occupied by unathorised persons who have since set up gardens and semi-permanent houses without the consent of the administration .The hospital administration explained that between 2017 and 2018 ,they took the decision to harvest the mature trees on some parts of the land it was using ,but after ,it did not do replanting .
‘’Some unauthorized individuals took advantage of the process and started using the land . As management, we intend to start using this land and intend to plant trees accordingly ,” the letter reads in part
“ As a result ,many of these unauthorized individuals with gardens on this land will be affected and thus are required to act accordingly .” it adds
The hospital was supposed to start planting trees in 2024 but this exercise didn’t take off after residents put up a spirited fight .
Land has continued to be a sticky issue in many districts across Uganda where moneyed individuals with land titles are evicting poor sitting tenants from their ancestral land claiming that they are illegally settling on the land. It is on this basis that the government wants to come up with land reforms which they say are aimed at curing rampant evictions in the country.