The Amuru Resident District Commissioner Auma Linda Agness has refuted the allegations by some of the affected community owning land in Lakang village, claiming that “only” fake people were compensated.
The recent compensation of Lakang village residents by government was Uganda shillings 5.4 billion to 114 people in the sugar cane project area.
The cane project is due to take off within the shortest period of time, RDC Auma says.
Auma accuses those people for sabotaging government program, she says is meant to benefit community and citizen of this country at large.
“The first phase of payment benefited the rightful land owners but not what the community are describing as ‘benefited fraudsters’ from Gulu town,” she reveals.
Okellomone Patrick – a resident of Payot village whose land is part of Madvhani cane project area, expressed fears in the phase two land compensation which is due to take place in two weeks’ time saying: “The same people who grabbed peoples’ land in the first phase of compensation and also changed beneficiaries’ accounts are still the same people that are still being used, especially the leaders of Amuru Land Owners’ Association – ALOA.”
He describes ALOA management as ‘fraudsters and land grabbers’.
Late last year, Lands, Housing and Urban Development Minister, Betty Amongi dissolved the association due to allegation of fraud and numerous complaints lodged against the association’s management by some land owners.
Benard Obwoyo, a resident of Kololo whose land was surveyed by different persons and was compensated while absent, accused ALOA of forcefully surveying people’s lands.
“My 300 hectares of land since then has been surveyed and valued but I have not received any compensation up to know,” he reveals.
Mr. Obwoyo warns government and Madvhani against using the same people cited in land frauds in phase two exercise.
In a letter dated 18.10.2018, Lands Minister Hon Betty Amongi dissolved Amuru Land Owners’ Association due to complaints against some of the association leaders by some of the land owners during validation and verification exercises.
In that letter, the Minister wrote that she was aware that ALOA management were demanding money from land owners for running the association. She describes such act as illegal.