Residents of Kilyowa Village in Njeru Municipality, Buikwe District, have asked authorities to reopen public roads they say were blocked after plots were created on land originally reserved for access routes.
The residents say the closure of the roads has left several homes and parcels of land inaccessible for years, despite repeated complaints to local authorities.
Buikwe Deputy Resident District Commissioner (RDC) Richard Kakwezi has intervened in the dispute and visited the area to assess the situation following complaints from residents.
During the visit, residents accused officials in the Njeru Municipality physical planning office of approving plots on land they say had been designated as public roads.
Mr Kakwezi directed that one of the affected roads be reopened immediately as authorities work to establish how the disputed developments were approved and find a lasting solution to the wider dispute.
Mr Wilfred Kiruma, a resident and landowner in Kilyowa, said he had been unable to develop his property for the past three years because of the lack of access.
“I have been stranded for three years without doing any development on my land because there is no access. But I am not the only one suffering; almost the entire village is affected. The roads were closed and we tried to seek help but failed,” Mr Kiruma said.
He welcomed the RDC’s intervention, saying it had renewed residents’ hope of regaining access to their properties.
Mr Kiruma also accused the Njeru Municipality physical planner, Mr Edmond Musoke, of approving plots in areas that residents claim had been reserved for roads.
“I was shocked to find that the roads leading to my estate had been blocked through the planning process. We believe the physical planner knew that the plots were being created in areas that would affect other people,” he said.
The allegations against Mr Musoke could not immediately be independently verified.
Residents also accused their chairperson, Mr Robert Masajage, of being involved in circumstances surrounding the closure of the roads.
Another resident, Mr Nampala George Williams, said some kibanja holders had voluntarily surrendered portions of their land to create access roads, only to later discover that parts of the same land had allegedly been allocated as plots.
Mr Nampala said his kibanja originally measured about 720 feet by 600 feet, but that part of the land was later returned to him in a smaller portion measuring about 150 feet by 100 feet.
“We gave out part of our land freely to create roads. I was shocked when they started giving us back smaller portions of land. I do not know where the rest of my land went. What pains us is that we gave out this land for roads, but officials at Njeru Municipality later created plots there,” Mr Nampala said.
He said residents wanted authorities to establish what happened to the land surrendered for road access and determine how the disputed plots were created.
The residents also accused businessman Mr Yusuf Kelly of involvement in the closure of the road, allegedly with the guidance of officials from the physical planning office.
The allegations against Mr Kelly, Mr Masajage and Mr Musoke could not immediately be independently verified, and the individuals had not responded to the accusations by the time of publication.
Mr Kakwezi said preliminary findings pointed to shortcomings in the physical planning process, particularly an alleged failure by officials to inspect the affected areas before approving developments.
“I don’t know why the physical planner did not go to the ground before approving anything. This is the problem that is disturbing our people,” Mr Kakwezi said.
He said the government’s intervention was intended to bring the affected parties together and find a solution that would restore access while addressing the competing claims over the land.
“Fortunately, the residents have agreed to sit down and resolve this matter,” he added.
The RDC’s intervention comes amid growing complaints from residents over access roads and land-use planning in parts of Njeru Municipality.
The residents are now calling on the authorities to establish how the disputed plots were approved, identify the original road reserves and restore public access routes that were surrendered or designated for roads.
