Leaders in Hoima District have appealed to President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni to intervene in the escalating cases of land grabbing and violent evictions affecting communities.

The concerns were presented to the President in a memorandum delivered by Vincent Muhumuza Savana, the Hoima NRM Chairperson and NRM candidate for the Hoima LCV seat, during a rally at Hoima Boma Grounds yesterday.

Savana says land grabbing is on the rise, with several families violently evicted from their ancestral land by individuals who allegedly acquired land titles fraudulently.

He notes that residents in Kapapi, Bombo, Buraru, Kiganja, and Kyabigambire sub-counties are currently living under the threat of eviction.

He asks the President to take personal interest in resolving the land disputes in Hoima and the greater Bunyoro sub-region, especially in light of increased land speculation following the discovery of oil. 

In his address, President Museveni did not directly comment on the land issues raised by the leaders.

Instead, he urged the people of Hoima to make use of the peace brought by the NRM government to focus on wealth creation.

Museveni encouraged residents to embrace commercial agriculture, arguing that the region’s fertile land gives it an advantage in boosting household incomes and reducing poverty.

He emphasised that socio-economic transformation is impossible if households remain stuck in subsistence farming.

The President reiterated his call for communities to adopt the four-acre farming model, which promotes land diversification by allocating land to coffee, fruit trees, food crops, and livestock.

He say additional enterprises like poultry, piggery, and fish farming can further increase household earnings.