The building formerly situated along Pallisa Road on Plot 33 and 35 was on Friday morning demolished by a gang of unknown people guarded the Police.
According to tenants who operated retail businesses and resident on the building, the Police and the gang of men armed with hammers and metals on a truck arrived at 4:00 in the mourning. They the descended and started demolish it. The occupants, mainly tenants were taken by surprise and were allegedly not given time to remove most of their belongings.
Residents claim the police used teargas to scare away the occupants.
It is said that there has been a ownership dispute over the land on which the building was was located. Those in dispute included business man Hashim Hassan, a Somali national.
Some of the owners of the building who preferred not to be named said that the alleged that Hashim Hassan fraudulently obtained a title on the land that belonged to his late father.
They told URN that the matter has been in court since 2022 but they were surprised when Police and a gang of people descended on their building and they demolished it.
Elgon Region Police Spokesperson Rogers Taitika said that he did not know anything concerning the eviction of the tenants and subsequent demolition of the building.
However, the victims interviewed by our reporter claimed the people who demolished the building were under the protection of the Police which also used teargas to scare them away.
James Kutosi, the Mbale City Public Relations Officer also in a phone interview said that the demolition of the building did not follow the normal procedures. He said he would pronounce the position of council on the demolition at a later time.
Were Yahaya, Mbale City’s Northern Division Deputy Resident City Commissioner collaborated the Police Spokesperson when he said that the security committee of the district was not aware of any eviction order.
He advised the affected persons to seek court redress and sue the people that effected the demolition order and destroyed their property.
*Source – URN*
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