MUKONO- President Museveni’s visit to Kirangira Village, the scene of a recent violent eviction in Mukono District, was momentarily disrupted on Thursday by a snake.
The President had started addressing a rally in the area when the snake was spotted in the VIP tent, close to where the President was.
Officials who were in the tent, including State Minister for Lands Persis Namuganza, State Water minister Ronald Kibuule, Mukono District chairperson Andrew Ssenyonga and Justice Catherine Bamugemereire all took off.
This drew the attention of the Special Forces Command who stepped on the snake with their powerful shoes and killed the snake.
The tension drew the attention of the President, who began asking his soldiers in Kiswahili what was happening.
The President’s speech resumed shortly after the soldiers killed the snake
Mr Museveni was in the area in connection with demolition of property and forceful eviction of hundreds of families from a 488-acre land comprised in three villages in Nama Sub County, Mukono District by 84-year-old businessman Israel Dick Kyamuwangire Banoba.
It is alleged that Mr Banoba deployed armed goons and security personnel including the police to commit acts of violence during the eviction from land whose ownership is under contest in court with the family of the late Ham Mukasa.
Last week, the land probe quizzed Mr Banoba on how he acquired a land title on top of an already existing title in the names of Ham Mukasa family. The late Ham Mukasa was a Buganda Kingdom Chief of Kyaggwe County.
“I heard of Ham Mukasa as an important person; a county chief who had chunks of land in Kyaggwe,” said Mr Banoba adding that he saw his title of land measuring 408 acres in 1971 after the release of Dr Emmanuel Lumu, a former minister in Obote government.
The land inquiry chaired by Justice Catherine Bamugemereire tasked Mr Banoba to present a purchase agreement but he insisted that sales agreement is a new phenomenon which is less 20 years which prompted the land commissioners to shoot back in disagreement.
Commissioner Robert Sebunya described Mr Banoba’s testimony as mere lies arguing that previously sale agreements were highly respected to avoid fraud.
