By Our Reporter

A family in Katabi Sub County, Entebbe Municipality in Wakiso District is living in shock after a section of its members have been implicated in rebel activities but asked to surrender part of their ancestral land to State House Land protection Unit officials led by Brig Gen Moses Lukyamuzi as a condition to be set free.

The family of the late Charles Kisitu Ffulu has now appealed to President Museveni and all authorities to intervene and prevail over the security officials who allegedly arrested, tortured and detained them on purported rebel related charges before demanding for  a one and a half acre land at Nkumba – Bbendegere in Katabi Sub County.

The family members have accused the State House Land Protection Unit officials of opening up rebel and terrorism related charges and started demanding for a one and half acre plot of land and the estate administrator, Willy Kisitu.

It is alleged that high profile security officials working with a section of police officers and local leadership with land brokers have since started to bring pseudo buyers and superimpose them on the family ancestral land at Nkumba – Bbendegere in Katabi Sub County.

Family members said that the pseudo people come with forged sale or purchase agreements which they present and upon challenging them, they are arrested and taken to police for criminal trespass and threatening violence cases.

It is alleged that the officials come purporting to help the pseudo bibanja holders for their selfish benefits.

On February 26, 2025, a group of armed soldiers both in uniform and plain clothes invaded the land and arrested the caretaker of the land, Ivan Ntege and two of his workers; Paul Mukisa and Abbas Senabulya.

It is alleged that the three men were kept in a nearby bush before they were driven in a drone to Mengo, in Kampala at the offices of the State House Land protection Unit.

Ntege, who is now nursing his right eye, said that the land measuring about seven acres belongs to the family of the late Charles Kisitu Ffulu but there is a cartel of unscrupulous persons who are using all the tricks to grab their land.

“I was arrested by soldiers who beat me and my workers; they tortured us while accusing us of forming a rebel group. Imagine they found us working on our land and they started asking for pangas accusing us of belonging to the M23 rebel group, that we are of Rwandese origin, and that we have to explain when we entered Uganda,” Ntege cried.

He added: “Imagine asking where I came from when they found me on the land where I was born and raised? They found us using walkie Talkies because the telephone network near the lake is bad and they used that as a basis to beat us and ask for the administrator of the land.”

According to Ntege, their arrest was disguised as if there was a case but to their surprise the soldiers did not even report to the area police and not even the Police in Entebbe but they were driven  to Kampala amid beatings.

“Upon reaching Mengo, they (soldiers) subjected us to interrogation mainly on our tribes and asking us how the Rwandese came to the land and more so one of the soldiers said Ntege leero tukufunye (Ntege we have got you) and we are going to imprison you for a month until you sign for us an agreement,” he narrated.

He revealed that they were paraded before Brig Lukyamuzi at Mengo but he did not mention anything but the soldiers continued interrogating them until they called another man they identified as counsel who asked them to sign a sales agreement for land in order to be released.

Ntege added that from Mengo they were driven to Kireka SIU by the soldier identified as Amudan Mukiibi kept threatening to kill them and that to their surprise, the following day, the head of the detention facility at Kireka released them and gave them transport.

“The soldier at Kireka sent us back to Mengo to pick our property but on reaching there, everyone abandoned us and they instead decided to make telephone calls until they rearrested us and took us back to Kireka instead of giving us our property. We were driven back to Kireka and accused us of overthrowing the government,” said Ntege.

He said that the detention head they identified as Musa told them that Afande Ddamulira (head of crime intelligence) ordered for their release and that they were released without any documentation but ordered to return to the Mengo office on March 21.

“We are wondering, if there is a case against us, why then are they asking us to sign land sale agreements and present them to the administrator who does not stay in the area? And they said on March 21, there will be a meeting but for what? I appeal to the State House Anticorruption Unit and Criminal Investigations and CMI to intervene in this matter,” he appealed.

Ntege revealed that the soldiers are working with a relative identified as Patrick Kisitu and a former family lawyer Fahad Wasswa with a host of brokers to disenfranchise them of the land ownership.

On his part, Mukisa said that they are living in fear of being abducted again and being hurt because they kept asking us to show them guns and pangas which they did not have.

“I sustained injuries and the stomach got a problem in my body. I have been on medication since then,” he added.

When contacted on Friday, Brig Gen Lukyamuzi could not comment on the matter saying he was not in position.

He said that he needed time to consult his staff to know the person handling the said complaint and how far with the investigations and promised to return to us after making consultations.

Patrick Kisitu, a family member among the accused parties dismissed the accusations saying that he was also among the people who were being sought by the soldiers.

He explained that the accusations against him and the lawyer (Wasswa) are baseless and stemming from the struggle on who should take care of the family estate.

“I have taken care of the family property for many years and I have been in these battles alone but they are fighting me because of a mere three acre land which I sold and provided the accountability for the money,” Kisitu explained.

He revealed that the arrest is about the Kibanja holder who was denied access but Kisitu could not divulge into the matter.