NELSON K
Over 800 Kimbugu residents have accused the outgoing Mayor of Rukungiri Municipality Charles Makuru, and Rukungiri district RDC Bronne Kinkashemeza, of allegedly grabbing their land around Kimbugu Pond in Kimbungu Cell, Kiganga Parish, Nyarushanje Subcounty, Rukungiri District.
Residents of Kimbungu Cell in Kiganga Parish, Nyarushanje Subcounty, especially those who own land near Kimbugu pond, have come forward to express frustration and dissatisfaction. They accuse some Rukungiri district authorities, led by RDC Bronne Kinkashemeza, and the outgoing Municipal Mayor Charles Makuru, , of forming a deal to close the outlets of Kimbugu Pond. According to the residents, this was done with the intention of causing flooding and submerging their nearby land, then planting border stones 100 metres up the hills into residents’ gardens without any negotiation.
Speaking to Boona FM with heavy hearts, residents led by Kiganga Parish elected councillor and NRM parish chairperson Mr. Dismas Tayenbwa Bakutana, Kimbungu LC1 Chairperson Mr. Rutangire Silvano, and Mrs. Nsimire Merri expressed disappointment in the leaders they once recognized as President Museveni’s representatives. They claim these leaders formed a bond to flood crops and land that families have used for over 80 years, with the goal of forcing residents out and grabbing the land for free.
The residents also accuse the officials of planting stones on their land to mark it as a lake reserve, extending 100 metres from the lake up to hill gardens, without consultation. Instead, they say they faced arrogant verbal intimidation meant to scare landowners.
They explain that the planned closure of the lake outlets has destroyed their crops, which they depended on, and cut off domestic water supply. The only remaining water is stagnant floodwater, and they have no other source.
VOXPOP 1….RR
Another group of residents, led by 96-year-old grandmother Kiconco Kedress, along with Denis Asiimwe, Mathias Tumukunde, Bashekura Porina, Mr. Benon Kikanu, and others, raised the same accusations. They say the district authorities attempted to grab their land, intentionally caused flooding by closing the pond outlet, and planted stones on their property without negotiation, claiming it was for nature conservation without valid reason.
Furious residents say all these actions, carried out under the excuse of conserving nature, are joint deals driven by personal interests. They argue that Kimbugu Pond is not a gazetted lake that requires intervention from the Ministry of Water and Environment. They add that they now have nowhere to go since the land they have used for over 80 years is being taken away.
They are now calling on the Office of the President, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, elected politicians, and other powerful authorities to intervene and save their land from what they describe as greedy and heartless actions by Rukungiri officials.
VOXPOP 2….RR
During their campaign to express frustration, the residents resolved to take action through communal work. They say they will forcefully reopen the lake outlets to drain floodwater from their land and uproot the stones that were planted without their consent.
VOXPOP 3….RR
Meanwhile, in response, Rukungiri District RDC Bronne Kinkashemeza, one of the leaders being accused, defended himself. He said all actions, including laying stones to mark a 100-metre boundary from the lake, were planned and directed by the Ministry of Water and Environment through NEMA, not by his personal interests. He stated that NEMA even allowed residents to use 70 metres of the 100-metre buffer zone, which he described as a gesture of goodwill.
He also blamed the residents for escalating the issue, saying they rushed to Parliament, which directed NEMA to intervene. That intervention led to the land being marked and the 100-metre limit being set.
KINKASHEMEZA…..RR
