A high-ranking official made a surprising admission at a recent gathering in Mpooma Village, Mukono District. Ms. Phiona Barungi, Private Secretary to Gen Museveni, revealed that certain individuals have been misusing the President’s name to seize land from unsuspecting citizens.
The meeting, convened by Dr. Sam Mayanja, aimed to address a petition by Doctors Juventile & Elizabeth Emuku, who claimed that their 8-acre land was taken by a notorious land dealer, Hajjat Jamawa Nantuume. Despite selling the land to the Emukus in 2008/2009, Hajjat Jamawa Nantuume later reneged on the deal and brought in armed groups to intimidate and harass them.
Residents came in large numbers and gave evidence corroborating the fact that the land was Emukus’ because it was duly sold to them at Shs54m in 2008/2009 by Hajjat Jamawa Nantuume who went as far as introducing them to neighbours and LC1 officials as the new owners of the 8 acres which had previously been hers.She received the money and signed onto the sales agreement except that she changed her mind and began playing hide and seek the moment she was required to tender her Identity Card to authenticate the transfer of ownership from her names to their names.
Years later, Nantuume brought kanyamas around and began destroying the Emukus farm property claiming she was taking back her land because she realizes they had given her little money per acre.The kanyamas were led by her own son called Moses who was aided by the area LC1 Chairman Constantine Serugo who one of the residents, an old man called Lawrence Mubiru, accused of trying to bribe them to turn against the Emukus yet Hajjat Jamawa Nantuume had introduced them to him as the new owners of the land after she pocketed their purchase price of Shs54m in 2008.
Serugo avoided Mayanja’s meeting claiming his eyes were paining though the Minister nevertheless ordered for his arrest for engagement in corruption and removal from office immediately.In their submissions at the baraza, local residents claimed how Hajjat Jamawa Nantuume brought kanyamas and kifeesi groups to terrorize and beat them up while demanding that they testify against Dr. Emuku.
That the kifeesi groups that were terrorizing people claimed to be from both State House and President’s Office and justified their torture acts by claiming they had been sent by State House to get the Mpooma Naama Mukono land for the family of a certain big man who they never disclosed. That the same was reported to the Mukono Police leadership and the RDC Fatuma Ndisaba yet the two offices just ignored the whole thing as opposed to coming in to help the Emukus enforce their lawful claim and right to the land.
It was against this background that Ms Phiona Barungi, a lawyer, used the same meeting to defend the President and First Family saying they are never interested in anybody’s land. She explained that many such impostors have lately been identified and sent to Luzira for impersonating the President, his wife Janet Kataha, his son Gen MK and his daughters.
That on four occasions, land grabbers successfully used Janet Museveni’s name to grab people’s land. Ms Barungi asserted that the President had designated and deployed her to move with Dr. Mayanja to pick Intel on such impersonation claims so that culprits and perpetrators get immediately apprehended. She gave out her phone numbers saying people can report such impostors directly to her office for immediate action.
She explained that the President is aware there are some State House insiders who abusively use their supposed closeness to him and First Family to orchestrate land grabbing by offering cover to rogue-minded actors who continue terrorizing ordinary Ugandans in different parts of the country.
Ms Burungi admitted that it’s true some of the land grabbing by Hajjat Jamawa Nantuume-like rogue-minded actors is enabled by some State House employees who make themselves available to offer cover for land grabbers to successfully use the President’s name, that of State House or President’s Office.
She said she has been active in exposing such rogue-minded State House employees to the President which is why many of them hate her and are always out working hard to demonize her name and antagonize her with both the President and the ordinary people.
