Hoima District council has passed a resolution to evict Hoima West division police who are putting up their division headquarters at Kasingo on the district land accusing them of illegally settling here without getting permission.
Speaking to Nile Post, the District speaker Nyangabyaki Swaibu accused police of being so proud in response every time they wanted answers from them on who granted them permission to settle on the district land without council notification.
In a council meeting that took place on December, 19, 2023 chaired by Swaibu Nyangabyaki, the council passed a resolution to have police vacate the district claiming they got it illegally in a gentleman’s agreement with the late LC5 chairperson, Kadiri Kirungi but without a minute from council.
The council speaker Swaibu Nyangabyaki said they tasked the chief administrative officer and the chairman to immediately see police vacate the land and that failure to do so will lead to a forceful eviction.
“You see even when you are police, you can’t just come to the district land and settle without council resolution. This is Hoima district land, and we have now tasked the chief administrative officer and office of the chairman to ensure that they leave the land. If they act big headed, we will work with office of the RDC and forcefully evict them,” Nyangabyaki said
“We sent our committee on works and land to find out who offered them land, they are saying they got land through the district executive committee, but we asked members of the committee and none admitted to have had such a resolution. Now,all we want is police to vacate the land in any form,” Rukidi Oscar the deputy speaker added.
Rukidi said whereas they would be lenient with police, whenever they visited them to explain their presence on the land, they were so pride in speech asking them who they are to ask police such questions and that they(police) were ready to defend their land.
“You just can’t imagine, when our councilors went to find out who gave them land, they were so proud. If they don’t have money to rent houses. let them go back to the center, this is District land not police land,” Rukidi said
However, the Albertine region police spokesperson Julius Hakiza said they are yet to receive any formal document asking them to leave the land, but warned they are not ready to leave , arguing they own the land through district executive committee minutes.
“For now we hear it in rumours because we haven’t got any formal document or order asking us to leave the land, but our stand is we legally own the land. We have minutes of district executive committee which is the top arm of district,” Hakiza highlighted.
However, Rukidi refuted police claims that they got a minute from the executive, educating that even it was there, the executive through the vice chairman who is the head of the council business would have presented it to council for blessing which did not happen.
“How can you claim that the district executive committee gave you a minute yet it has no mandate? They must present anything and everything to council for either approval or rejection. What happened between police and the then late chairman Kirungi Kadiri was a gentleman agreement which can’t work. We follow procedures. They have only one option, to vacate the land.”
Police has stood its ground.
“We know it is politics at play because most of the councilors pushing this were not in support of the late chairman and do not support the current chairman Uthuman Mubarak who is son to late Kadiri so they want to fail him. As police, we are not ready to be dragged into their politics. Let them come and evict us but thats when they will know we are not a joking subject, ” Hakiza said.
Hoima Resident City Commissioner Badru Mugabi cautioned the council against passing resolutions without sober minds but rather behaving like drunkards.
He asked them to weigh in if they actually think the city security committee can allow an eviction of police and if yes who will witness the eviction of police.
“According to guidelines from the president and the minister, before we authorize any eviction as the city security committee, we weigh in whether it is attainable and what impact it has.Now you are talking about evicting police in this era of ADF that is threatening security of Hoima but also the neighborhood. Let them pass resolutions with sober minds which are enforceable,” Mugabi noted.
Whereas Hoima District who had put up their multibillion headquarters at Kasingo, currently the structure falls under the city, with guidelines saying they must leave for the city to take over, but until now there is rivalry between the district and city which Mugabi says has to be handled by the line ministry who are ministry of local Government.
“There is a lot of rivalry between Hoima city and Hoima district over property. By law, Hoima district is supposed to shift to a new location but they had put up their multi billion structure. The line ministry needs to find money that will enable Hoima district shift and put up good offices in Kitoba but as of now there is a lot of tension. Hoima City wants Kasingo, but the district seems not willing to leave even when they know they are working outside their area,” Mugabi added.