By Sharon Basilika
About 600 residents of Nile Landing Site in Njeru Municipality, Buikwe District, fear eviction after reporting night attacks by people allegedly wearing police uniforms.
Residents say the attackers have assaulted, tortured and threatened them to force them off land they have occupied for decades.
Diana Mutasingwa, the minister in the Office of the Vice President and Buikwe District Woman MP, led district leaders and security officials to the area for a meeting over the complaints.
The residents, most of whom fish on the River Nile near the power plant, accused a fellow occupant of organising the attacks to take over or expand his land.
They told the meeting that their community had occupied the land since 1960, when it was reportedly allocated to them by the electricity department. They have since built homes and raised families there.
Residents asked the government to intervene, saying they had nowhere else to go. They said losing access to fishing would also affect their ability to repay Parish Development Model loans.
Nile Landing Site LC1 chairperson Charles Aogotri said repeated night attacks had left residents afraid to sleep in their homes. He asked security agencies to protect them and investigate those responsible.
Njeru Municipality mayor Yasin Kyaze Sityaloosi said he had also received threats while defending the residents.
Julius Wamala, who represented the electricity department at the meeting, said the department had authorised no one to evict the residents. He said anyone attempting to remove them was acting illegally.
Mutasingwa promised to follow up on the complaints with district leaders and security officials and ensure they were investigated.
She also warned land officials against issuing fraudulent titles, saying they could cause disputes and lead to unlawful evictions.
