Mugala says her woes began shortly after the death of her husband during the COVID-19 pandemic, when a one Fred Bahati stormed her home, claiming ownership of the land.
An 80-year-old widow, Elivanda Mugala, a resident of Nawaka B village in Ikumbya Sub-county, Luuka District, is crying foul after allegedly losing her 37-acre piece of land to a man she claims masquerades as a State House official.
Mugala says her woes began shortly after the death of her husband during the COVID-19 pandemic, when a one Fred Bahati stormed her home, claiming ownership of the land. Despite seeking help from local leaders, Mugala says Bahati returned in early 2024, ordering her to vacate the land within a month.
“I had hired out 30 acres to sugarcane farmers and kept seven for food cultivation to feed my orphaned grandchildren,” Mugala said. “Bahati returned with a group of unidentified youths who destroyed my house and all plantations, leaving me in a desperate situation.”
She further alleges that the youths physically assaulted her. While seeking treatment at a private clinic, police personnel stormed the facility and arrested her. Mugala says after a week in detention, Bahati returned with prisoners who allegedly torched the sugarcane plantations, effectively rendering her landless.
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Mugala adds that Bahati has since taken over the land for personal use and filed what she describes as trumped-up charges against her four children at the territorial police of Busoga East, despite Luuka District falling under the jurisdiction of Busoga North, headquartered in Kamuli District.
She now lives in a makeshift house at the edge of the contested land and claims Bahati continues to harass her with the aid of both military and police personnel, arriving in vehicles with red number plates.
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Her daughter, Tapenensi Nabirye, says their mother has been repeatedly arrested on Bahati’s orders and securing police bond always involves raising money, often through fundraising among relatives and friends of their late father.
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Another family member, Moses Nsadha, called upon President Museveni to intervene and rein in Bahati, whom he accuses of threatening their lives. Nsadha also claims that armed security personnel often assault them and later dump them at Ikumbya Police Station.
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Luuka Deputy Resident District Commissioner (RDC), Hassan Ssembalirwa, acknowledges Mugala’s plight, describing her as one of many widows and orphans facing threats from alleged land grabbers.
Ssembalirwa confirmed that Mugala filed a complaint last year and that efforts were made to mediate the matter in vain. He also revealed that one of the vehicles Bahati uses, registration number UG 2500034, is linked to the judiciary according to intelligence reports.
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He added that Bahati is implicated in multiple land disputes across the district and that the local leadership is working with non-governmental organizations and government agencies to protect vulnerable groups, including widows, orphans, and persons with disabilities.
In a phone interview, Bahati denied all allegations, claiming ownership of only 10 acres of land purchased from Anthony Kamode and Magada Kamode. He says Mugala was arrested for allegedly destroying cassava stems worth UGX 6 million and denies ever threatening residents.
However, his claims are contradicted by 82-year-old Francis Balwaine, who described Bahati as the son of a Rwandese cattle keeper — one of the Bararo — who worked on farms in the 1960s. Balwaine disputes Bahati’s land ownership claims and questions the use of force in the presence of passive security officers.
