BY SAMUEL AMANYIRE KACHOPE
The police in the Rwenzori East Region have urged the residents across Kasese district to embrace the culture of resolving land conflicts peacefully in order to ensure a harmonious living and unity.
The Regional Community Liaisons Officer, ASP Solomon Mugisa Akiiki says solving land issues through mediation helps to solve the challenge of using huge sums of money required to facilitate lawyers and other expenses while yearning for justice in the courts of law.
ASP Akiiki unveiled this today while addressing the residents of Kirembe Cell in the Central Division of Kasese Municipality who are involved in a land conflict between Western Importers and Distributors Co. Limited together with Nyakatonzi Growers’ Cooperative Union.
The residents are claiming 47.67 acres of land outside the titled piece of land belonging to Western Importers and Distributors Company Limited and Nyakatonzi Growers’ Cooperative Union.
ASP Akiiki tipped the victims of the land in question to consider using he mediation approach and clarified that the system was cheap and quick for them to get justice.
He requested the three parties held up in the land conflict to select some representatives and go to the office of the Regional Police Commander on Tuesday next week to harmoniously and comprehensively discuss the matter and come up with a logical conclusion.
Mr. Lawrence Bwambale, the Chairperson for Kirembe Cell who described the police’s advice as timely reported that his area has for long been affected by land conflicts, living the people’s lives at stake.
He equally called for the establishment of a police post in the area to quickly respond to land conflicts before they escalate to a level of the involved parties to harm each other following the illegal evictions.
Enock Muhasa from Western Importers and Distributors Company Limited, one of the parties involved in the conflict regretted the manner in which the land belonging to the community had been sold off hence causing unrest among the residents.
He comforted the local residents tat with the help of the government authorities including security, the matter would amicably be solved so that they peacefully obtain and utilize their pieces of land.
Mr. Johnson Isebaswagha, the Chairperson of the affected residents regretted why despite having all the documents about their land which he displayed to the Regional Community Liaisons Officer, the concerned authorities had declined to allow them re-occupy their pieces of land.
ENDS