Lands ministry rejects call to save over 300 Masaka residents facing eviction

MASAKA - The lands ministry has dismissed a plea by over 300 residents of Kasanje village in Masaka district to halt their eviction from a 400-acre plot, despite a direct appeal to President Yoweri Museveni. 

Lands state minister Joseph Mayanja and Minister Judith Nabakoba ruled out further administrative intervention, citing a 2019 court ruling that declared the residents had encroached on land owned by Masaka Jaggery Mills Ltd.

The conflict stems from a 2019 ruling by Masaka chief magistrate Deo Ssejjemba, which sided with landlords Joseph Matovu and Methodius Kasujja in their eviction bid against the locals.

The court’s decision, upheld after residents withdrew an appeal in 2021, set the stage for the current standoff.

Despite this, the affected families, many of whom lost homes, crops, and plantations, petitioned the President in 2021, prompting former Vice-President Edward Ssekandi and the State House legal teams to intervene.

However, Mayanja emphasised that all avenues for mediation had been exhausted.

“The matter has been conclusively resolved through legal and administrative processes. No further interventions are justified,” he stated in a letter dated October 28, 2025, rejecting a last-minute plea for a site visit.

Unresolved

Nabakoba confirmed that 105 families received compensation between shillings 300,000 and 12 million from the landlords in 2021 after signing agreements.

However, a ministry report revealed 215 families remain uncompensated, pending verification of their claims.

“We closed the mediation process when the majority accepted the settlement,” Nabakoba said. However, locals like Vincent Mugerwa, leader of the Kasanje Bibanja Owners Association, denounced the payouts as “peanuts,” citing offers as low as shillings 800,000 per acre.

 The dispute has drawn high-level attention, including from legislator Joanita Namutawe, who petitioned Parliament, and Prime Minister Robina Nabanja, who met with security officials in Masaka last week. Despite these efforts, the lands ministry insists the case is closed.

Residents, however, contest the land’s ownership history, alleging irregularities in transfers from the original owners, the Masaka Jaggery Mills, to current landlords. Title documents show the land was registered under Freehold Volume 59 Folio 11, transferred to Joseph Bukenya in 2021, before passing to Methodius Kasujja.

Facing eviction

Over 300 families now face displacement, with the landlords’ legal team, Solis Advocates, having served eviction notices in 2021.

The Prime Minister’s office received a fresh petition on October 31, detailing the residents’ grievances, including destroyed property and inadequate compensation.