Ugandan MPs probe railway land encroachment in Jinja
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A parliamentary committee is investigating how more than 700 people, including a sitting MP, acquired Uganda Railways Corporation land in Jinja City, and whether the titles they hold are valid.
Parliament's Committee on Physical Infrastructure and Works has opened an investigation into alleged encroachment on Uganda Railways Corporation (URC) land in Jinja City, amid concerns that public railway property has been occupied and possibly lost.
The committee, chaired by Mwine Mpaka, is trying to establish how more than 700 people, including Jinja North MP Hussein Muyonjo, acquired the contested land, how permanent residential structures were built on it, and whether the occupants hold legally recognised titles.
Legislators were told during an engagement with affected residents in Jinja North Constituency that most occupants had bought the land and obtained titles, and they dispute URC's claim to ownership. Mpaka said the committee had been briefed that the Jinja District Land Board issued titles on the disputed government land, but that the board had asked for more time to verify the documents it was shown.
“We shall invite them to Kampala to explain. If we find out that they participated in giving out government land, then we shall hold them accountable,” Mpaka said.
Resident Siraje Bogere argued that the government's compensation of his property under the Standard Gauge Railway project showed his ownership had been recognised, while former Mpumudde Division chairperson William Ebusa said the Busoga Railway line was originally granted to railway authorities by the Busoga Kingdom to move cotton, a trade that has since declined.
Some occupants asked Parliament not to intervene because the dispute is already in court. Julius Zziwa, who occupies Plot 59, said the Bamugemereire Commission of Inquiry into land matters investigated the plot and that he has been in litigation with URC since 2017 awaiting judgment.
Jinja Resident City Commissioner Salim Kumakech called for a comprehensive investigation, attributing the loss of public land to weak land administration and possible collusion between officials and land dealers. The committee is expected to report its findings to President Yoweri Museveni and the leadership of the Patriotic League of Uganda.