Landlord in Mukono on the spot for illegally exhuming eight graves

Mukono, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Residents of Namulugwe in Nama sub county, Mukono district are in shock following a decision by the landlady to exhume the graves of the relatives of her tenants without their consent. The landlady, Margret Nakabanda Mayengo ordered the exhumation of the eight graves on Tuesday night without informing the family of her tenant Manjeri Nsulabubi.

Those exhuming the graves also destroyed a garden of tomatoes and bananas in the course of executing their assignments. The contested piece of land measures 100 by 100 feet. William Ssekatte, a son of Nsulabubi says that they have had a long time misunderstanding between their family and the landlord but they did not expect her to exhume and hide the remains of their ancestors.

He explains that their matter is before the office of the Resident District Commissioner-RDC for arbitration and wonders why the landlady took the arbitrary decision to discrete the graves of their dead relatives. Ssekatte says their landlord hired a team of bouncers to exhume the remains, who took off when they saw officers from Mukono police division.

Charles Miiro, a resident of Namulugwe village says that Nsulabubi has occupied the contested land for over 50 years since the demise of her parents.

The area LCI chairperson, Steven Kivumbi says that he wasn’t informed about the exhumation of graves and the eviction. He wonders why the landlord chose to wait for the night to perform the exercise. According to Kivumbi, besides the forceful eviction, traditionally exhuming graves is tantamount to cannibalism.

Nakabanda does not deny exhuming the remains, much as she does not reveal her motive. She insists that the remains are for the family of her former casual workers on the farm. Nakabanda also claims that she secured a court order allowing her to relocate the graves.

Mukono Deputy Resident District Commissioner, Henry Kitambula says that they were never informed about the exhumation of the graves as claimed by the landlady. He also confirmed the dispute about the land before their office.

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