Unidentified assailants have torched three houses on a contested piece of land in Rwengabi village Kaseeta parish Kabwoya sub county in Kikuube district destroying property worth millions of shillings. The incident happened at around 11p.m on Friday night.
The torched houses belong to Opio, Ofoi and Apio all residents of Rwengabi village.
Patrick Okwairwoth, the area LCI Chairperson told Uganda Radio Network in an interview on Saturday afternoon that when the assailants raided the area, the owners of the houses were not around.
He says though area residents rushed to put off the fire, but it was too late since the houses had already been burnt.
Julius Hakiza, the Albertine region Police spokesperson says investigations into the incident has commenced.
The houses were burnt on a contested piece of land measuring 640 acres being claimed by more than 300 residents of the same village and William Mugabe, a tycoon in Hoima city.
On Friday afternoon, twenty-three people were arrested from the contested piece of land after they allegedly attacked and severely injured Ali Achikule, a resident of the same area after they accused him of conniving with Mugabe to forcefully grab their ancestral land.
Some of the suspects that include both men and women have only been identified as Opar, Ofoi, Mita, Ogenrwoth, Aduba, Joyce, Jarieko and Uucha, all residents of Rwengabi village in Kabwoya sub county in Kikuube district. Others are yet to be identified. Achikule was severely injured in the head, face, both legs, chest and hands.
It all started when Achikule and other people purportedly hired by Mugabe invaded the area on Friday morning and started constructing a permanent house on the contested piece of land yet the Kikuube district security committee last year halted any activity by both the residents and Mugabe on the said land until further notice.
This situation compelled the aggrieved residents to raid and attack Achikule beating him to coma.
When the situation became tense, Kikuube police was notified and rushed to the scene.
Police picked the suspects who were immediately whisked to Kikuube central police station where they are currently being detained.
In October 2021, more than 300 residents of Rwengabi village in Kaseeta parish Kabwoya sub county accused William Mugabe of attempting to forcefully grab their ancestral land. The land in question is measuring 640 acres and it is located in the same village.
According to the residents, Mugabe has a land title that he acquired near their ancestral land in the same village but he wants to use it to forcefully grab their land measuring 470 acres near his land.
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