Jinja Residents Protest Unfair Eviction

About 700 families occupying the former Works Ministry campsite along Nile Crescent Avenue in Jinja city are protesting what they term as unfair eviction.

The protesters include 144 landlords and 556 sub tenants with unspecified number of dependents. 

They accuse Musa Bashir, the proprietor of Hared petroleum of trying to evict them from their homes on grounds that acquired the land hosting the campsite from Uganda Land Commission.

Some of the residents who received Shillings 250,000 each from Hared petroleum company officials as compensation, say the money can’t cater for their relocation. 

According to the residents, since receiving eviction notices on June 22nd, 2020 none of the local leaders has come to their rescue despite approaching them for help.

Barba Babirye, a sub tenant says her landlord was compensated and the roof of the house removed living them without shelter. 

Babirye says she lacks money to transport her seven children back to the village.

//Cue in: “Nze landlord…

Cue out…musanvu,”.

Joyce Ninsima, another affected resident, says she was paid Shillings 250,000 as disturbance allowance fees but the money isn’t adequate to cater for the relocation of her family. 

She wants the new land owners to devise means of adding them more money, since they have spent more than 15 years on the contested land.

//cue in: “Nava Hoima…  

Cue out…mu’mwidhi,”.  

Zilia Namulondo, another resident says the new land owners should add them more time to enable them to peacefully vacate without any chaos.

//Cue in: “omwami…   

Cue out…abaana,”.   

Mohammed Mwanje, the Nile Crescent Avenue village chairperson, says the tenants agreed to accept the compensation in return of vacating the contested land.

Swaibu Walubo, the estates manager Herald Petroleum, says they held peaceful engagements with the affected tenants who voluntarily agreed to vacate the premises.

//Cue in: “tetulina… 

Cue out…kasente ko,”.