Ugandan from UK evicts own children after return

Gulu, Uganda |  THE INDEPENDENT |  Santo Omona, a Ugandan UK based Businessman has evicted his own family in Gulu shortly after he returned home during the corona virus global pandemic.

Omona reportedly left home a wife and five children in 2000 at Obiya West in Gulu West Division on a customary plot of land measuring two hectares when he went to work abroad.

Jesica Acan, the wife of Omona says her husband had returned home with people he called developers and ordered them to vacate the land to pave him way for his developments.

Acan says the team had started demolishing the building the following day which sparked conflict as they attempted to resist, but that Omona was backed up by some of the relatives and evicted them.

She with the children stormed the office of the Resident District Commissioner on Tuesday and camped there until the next morning and were temporarily resettled back home.

“My husband abandoned me twenty years ago with the children and he has evicted us now from the only land we survive on” a tearing Acan recounts.

Cizzer Openy, the elder son who is 28 years says he himself has a family with two children and was shocked to see his own father evicting them after he returned.

Tom Oree, the Deputy Resident Commissioner for Gulu says the state is investigating Mr. Omona for using a different name while in the foreign Countries.

Omona can now not be traced and the Deputy RDC says says he has disappeared and gone back to his place of work in the United Kingdom at the time the country was in a total lockdown adding that the office has summoned him for unlawful eviction.

Oree says his office is overwhelmed with settlement of land related conflicts and has received 480 cases in six months of lockdown.  He says 75% of the conflicts were settled with mediation and the rest ended up in civil court with the most affected sub counties being Awach, Palaro, Unyama and Bungatira in the District.

Oree however called for impartiality of courts in handling cases of land related issues saying the underprivileged have continued to lose lands at the hands of the wealthy people.

He says the delay in conclusion of cases of land conflicts in court have continued to affect the poor person who may not afford transport to attend court and the rulings are often made against them.

“The Judiciary must learn to separate criminal justice and civil suit and they should be impartial in handling land related conflicts if we must protect the poor from losing lands” Oree added.

A 2018 report by Advance Afrika, a non governmental Organization working with Uganda Prison Services in Northern Uganda says 37% of convictions arise from land conflicts more, than any other crime committed in the region.

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