The Serere District Chairman Ochola Stephen and the deputy Resident District Commissioner (RDC) Mr Ivan James Namoma have been served with an intention to sue over allegations of defamation on broadcast media.
Mr Moses Omiat, a resident of Kasilo village, Kamod Parish in Bugondo Sub- County, Serere, through his lawyers K&A advocates have contended in their petition that the two local government officials uttered statements on one of the broadcast media which according to them undermine the high court judgement passed in June last year over the ownership of their client’s land.
“In a widely circulated broadcast, the said LCV chairperson of Serere District made baseless and unsubstantiated allegations that the Soroti District High Court judge was unfair and biased in arriving at his judgement in the Soroti High Court Suit No. 10 of 2016: Omiat Moses versus Serere District Local Government & 4 others when he declared that 150 acres of customary land at Kasilo village, Kamod parish, Bugondo Sub County, Serere District belongs to our client” in part reads the petition.
“On his part, the deputy RDC Serere District vowed not to evict the majority of the thousands from our client’s land because of one person. Again, this is false as the trespassers on our client’s land don’t number to the thousands,” the petition added in part.
Contacted for a comment in this story, Mr Namoma the deputy RDC declined to speak in this story because he was engaged and promised to get back but by press time he had not responded.
“I have heard the questions but I have not yet seen that suet and if he has anything personal about me, let him proceed to court because I dont have anything personal with him. I have not yet been served but I am ready to see him, in court,” Mr Namoma said briefly before he hung up on the call.
Our repeated calls to Mr Ochola on his known cellular phone numbers went unanswered and by press time he had not yet responded.
Last year in June, Justice Adonyo ruled that the district local government and four others identified as Mr Stephen Ejangu, Mr Sostine Okoja, and two others had encroached on Mr Omiat’s lan and consequently asked to pay Shs200m in fine.
They were also asked by the court to pay Shs70m as compensation for the destroyed trees and Shs50m as exemplary damages.
This matter arose in 2016 when Mr Omiat as the administrator of the estate of the late Amollo George, sued 11 people for trespass on their ancestral chunk of land.
Mr Omiat was protesting circumstances under which the district local government relocated the cattle market that initially used to operate at Kamod Trading Centre into his piece of land
The land in question is 150 acres, which Mr Omiat said he inherited from his late father George William Amolo.
But prosecution has since appealed this matter in court and awaits adjudication.
