By Mukembo Wilfred
The head of Ffumbe clan Omutaka Walusimbi, Mbirozankya Yusufu Kigumba Makubuya has appealed to authorities to intervene and remove land grabbers from their ancestral site at Bakka Hill, Busiro in Wakiso District.
Mbirozankya emphasized that it is not true as rumored that he sold the clan customary land to President Museveni because the land is not registered in his name but under the Trust, which has several trustees.
He also stated that in line with the guidance from the Kabaka of Buganda, to have all clan land in Buganda registered under a trust, the Ffumbe Clan land was registered as the Registered Trustees of the Ffumbe Clan, whose Trustees are the clan head “O’wakasolya”and four sub clan heads “Amasiga.
Mr Mbirozankya blamed the unscrupulous persons for perpetuating lies to the public in order to discredit him and further their selfish motive of grabbing the Ffumbe ancestral land.
According to Mbirozankya, the land in issue is the property of the Ffumbe clan which it has culturally owned and that has been used for more than three centuries.
A copy of the land title seen by this reporter indicates that land described as Busiro Block 186 Plot 3 at Bakka is also registered in the name of the Registered Trustees of the Ffumbe Clan.
“At this time when someone brings information that Makubuya (clan head Walusimbi) sold clan land to the president is a lie because the land is not in his name. The president knows the cultural norms; he cannot connive with the clan leader to steal the clan land. When I last met the president, he promised that he would visit Bakka and replace the destroyed forest,” he told the media.
He has also set June 6, 2024 to lead clan members to redeem their ancestral land and to remove trespassers from land grabbers.
Mbirozankya said that the move seeks to reconstruct the cultural headquarters of the Ffumbe clan known as “Embuga ya’walusimbi” encroached on by land grabbers at Bakka Hill, Busiro in Wakiso District.
He made the pronouncement soon after appointing a five member committee that is charged to mobilize and help redeem part of the ancestral land.
Mbirozankya appointed the team led by Eng William Ssebaggala, the former clan premier.
Others on the committee include lawyer Felix Kintu Nteza (Clan attorney), Dr Ronald Ssengendo (senior Surveyor), businessman Simon Peter Lubwama and Dr Edith Nakku, a medical doctor.
The clan committee will coordinate the campaign initiated by Mr Mbirozankya to remove the land grabbers from the clan ancestral land and regain control of the cultural headquarters (embuga), other cultural sites and to protect it from further encroachment.
While announcing the committee members, Mr Mbirozankya explained that the team will help the clan to reclaim its land that is being encroached on by perpetrators hiding and or disguising to be working for high profile people in government among them the newly Chief of Defence Forces, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba and President Museveni.
Mbirozankya said that he is trying to meet Gen Muhoozi to inform him of the land grabbers using his name to claim the clan ancestral land as well as bringing the army to forcefully possess it.
“This land grabbing is also being done in other clans, religious institutions and individuals. We pray that something should be done in the land laws because people hide in high profile peoples’ names to grab land in this country. If this is not done, our people may become violent and take matters into their own hands to fight for what legitimately belongs to them. People will not sit and see their land, property and ancestral places being taken away by unscrupulous people,” he warned.
Ffumbe clan publicist, Kisitu Musajjaliddeki Petero Lukayanirwa said that the situation on the land is worrying in that there is fear among the clan members yet the law is too slow to act.
“Our colleagues, who are falsely claiming ownership of clan land have been in courts of law several times and lost all the cases. It is not that we are grabbing that land; there is a letter and evidence from our former clan head Semei Kiwanda under whom the land grabbers claim, apologizing for selling part of the clan land in 1994. He was even interdicted for 8 months from his position as clan head and he wrote an apology and paid a fine of a cow, local brew and Shs10,000. If it was his land, why would he do all this,” he wondered.
According to Kisitu, the former Ffumbe clan head (Kiwanda) had his own land titles and in his name ‘Semei Kiwanda’ yet the clan land is registered in head of clan name Walusimbi and that for all clan heads no one has ever had the name Walusimbi.
“There are clan members on the land but their bibanja are being reduced by land grabbers who claim that the land belonged to their grandfather who was once a clan head, which is false” he added.
