Members of the extended Mpologoma family erect a reed fence. The leader of his extended family, Wilson Namuguzi Ssebuganda Ssebuganda (inset), will be buried in Lwadda village, the extended family’s ancestral homeland.
A new confrontation is brewing between the heads of the extended Mpologoma (Lion) family of the Kingdom of Buganda and Major General Elly Kayanja, with the former crediting the retired army officer with preventing them from accessing their ancestral lands.
It is on this disputed one-square-mile piece of land in Block 91, Kyadondo on Lwadda Hill in Matugga, Nansana Municipality, Wakiso District, that the leaders of the extended Mpologama family are buried. The latest disagreement, according to extended family leaders, has jeopardized burial arrangements for extended family leader Wilson Namuguzi. Ssebuganda, who died on August 14, forcing them to remain in a funeral home.
READ: Police do not mediate land dispute between Mpologoma’s extended family and General Kayanja
“When we gathered at the domain last weekend to prepare for the final departure of our leader, such as a parking space, the police, on the orders of General Kayanja, arrested us on the grounds that we were trespassing on personal property. Between us and General Kayanja, who is an intruder?John Patrick Kisekka, prime minister of the extended family of Mpologoma, asked in an interview Thursday morning. The disputed land in the village of Lwadda-Matugga in Nansana township, Wakiso district, is where the heads of the extended Mpologoma family are buried.
He said police had prevented relatives from clearing a domain that would serve as a burial parking lot since last week and had also renovated thatched-roof homes at the site. Although General Kayanja claims to own 25 acres in one square mile belonging to the extended family, Mr. Kisekka says that the lease granted through the Buganda Land Board is not identified through the leaders of the extended family. Hajj Yunus Ntale, a spokesman for Mpologoma’s extended family, said they are the rightful owners of the one-square-kilometer land in Lwadda and that the burial of their extended family leader will only take place after the ongoing dispute is resolved. “We will keep the frame in A-Plus Funeral Home until all those issues are resolved. This is our land and everyone knows that General Kayanja’s lease expired two years ago and now he denies us access to our land,” he said. Formation
Contacted on Wednesday, General Kayanja proved that he owned land in Lwadda, but insisted that the kingdom of Buganda, which had leased the land to him, was in a better position to comment on the dispute. “They begged me not to inform the media until these disorders had been resolved. Please go to the Kingdom of Buganda, you have a spokesman,” he said. The spokesman for the Kingdom of Buganda, Mr. Israel Kaziibwe, said that the kingdom was aware of the disorders occurring in the Mpolopassma clan. Land and Kingdom meets either party in conflict at an impasse.
“We have asked Minister Anthony Wamala, responsible for culture and tourism, to deal with these problems. Once those issues are resolved, the extended family leader will receive a dignified farewell,” Kazibwe said. Kampala Metropolitan Police deputy spokesman Luke Owoyesigyire said police intervened in the clash to prevent possible bloodshed.
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“Our task is to maintain law and order. We cannot stand idly by and watch the warring parties threaten to fight over the land, let them talk about their problems, the police will not prevent them from accessing their land,” said Array Additional information via MaliK Fahad Jjingo