No illegal eviction, IGP Ochola intervenes in Tororo Hospital land saga as security is tipped on how Tororo bigwigs planned to share the land

By Nathan Ngobi

The Inspector General of Police (IGP) John Martins Okoth Ochola has finally intervened in the Nyangole Tororo Hospital land wrangle ordering the authorities in Tororo to stop any illegal eviction until a court pronouncement on the matter.

“Do not evict people claiming they are living on the Nyangole Hospital land, no eviction unless you disprove them through courts of law and get court orders using right procedures” IGP Ochola said.

Ochola’s stern warning comes following a tip off that sections of members of Tororo district authority were planning to carry out an illegal eviction of some residents and later fence the land on ground that they (residents) illegally occupy the land that originally belonged to Tororo Hospital at Nyangole Tororo Municipality.

Earlier last month a group of people headed by the Tororo Hospital board chairperson Peter Ekikina raided the said land and started fencing it but were repulsed by locals who demanded them to produce clear documents and land title ownerships with eviction notices which the Ekikina’s lacked and their exercise were halted by the no nonsense regional Police commander for Bukedi South ACP Julius Caesar Twisingwire.

Echoing the voice of his boss the Assistant commissioner of police Julius Caesar Twisingwire halted the fencing of Nyangole land till a due process is followed.

Twisingwire warned that no eviction and fencing of families will take place unless there is an eviction order from court or due process is followed.

According to Tusingwire, he urged the district authorities to expedite legal advice from the attorney general’s office on eviction orders or agree on how it should take place.

Currently Tororo district embarked in fencing the Nyangole hospital land following allegations that it was encroached by some individuals a matter which is under serious investigations.

South Bukedi Regional police commander (RPC) Twisingwire announced that those found of fraudulently acquiring Nyangole hospital land will be persecuted 

While as he emphasized to the Tororo district authority to follow lawful processes in eviction of families if proven illegally occupying the Nyangole Tororo Hospital land.

Nicholous Ofwono, the district councilor representing Kisoko sub county told us that the district opposes the directive from the police on ground that those aggrieved would go to courts of law and provide their genuine documents.

According to Ofwono the matter came to the district council that the Nyangole Hospital land was being encroached on by locals and councilors resolved to have a committee headed by Benard Opendi a fellow councilor to investigate the matter and come up with a report.

He said that according to the report, it was found out that the encroachers have no documents and the council again in one of their sittings passed a resolution to fence the whole land with all occupants inside without giving them any exit route or gate but whoever finds it difficult could seek court redress.

He said that the report also pointed out that going to court to throw away the occupants would take a long time and costly on top of proving that the land does not belong to them.

He said that the police directive would not work at the moment because the district made a resolution and provided money to do the work already.

Ofwono also noted that matters of grabbing public land is so rampant in Tororo following failure to have a district land board in place.

“We do not have a district land for many years, remember we came to office when the district land board expired while upon the death of the LCV chairman, we took 4 years without having the district chairman and during this period a lot has been done by many people, look at the Lion children’s park a matter which is now in court as between Tororo Municipality and the authorities of the lion’s park” Ofwono said.

Obbo Jacob

He is the chairman NRM  Mukuju  and Akadoit sub county in Tororo district and a resident of Nyangole, one of those who  is at loggerheads with the district over the Hospital land.

Obbo Jacob, the director of Kyalende Uganda Ltd company that runs contracts through tendering processes told us that he bought his piece of land genuinely from Centenary bank after their client Omagal Geoffrey failed to service a loan which he had secured as a security to acquire the loan.

“I saw a public advert from Centenary bank calling for a public auction of Omagal’s land and I went in and paid 22m to buy the plot of land” Said Obbo.

He said that after paying all the money to the bank and part to Omagal , the bank gave him the agreement in the presence of Omagal with the land title.

He said that after the land title was transferred into his name and started developing the land but to the shock of life, he saw people without documents raiding the area with police guards to forcefully fence the land.

He said that he resisted with a panga in his hands and vowed to die on his land after a police officer threatened to fire at him.

According to Obbo the matter was intervened by the RPC who looked more human than the RDC who instead ordered the fence without following the proper procedures of the documentations.

“I have a genuine land title from the lands registration , I bought the property from the bank which bank had done a due diligence before giving out a loan and mortgaging it while as  the then hospital administrator signed as a neighbor on the title processing documents I have all the records with me now how come the same Hospital neighbor turn to grab my piece of land?” Obbo pointed out.

He vowed to go down with anyone who could threaten to fence his land.

While Tefiro Nyaiti 38 years a son to late Mzee  Leo Madaga the family that donated part of their land to Tororo Hospital said that he and his father sold the piece of land to Omagal Geoffrey  who later transferred the title to Obbo  Jacob.

He said that in 2008 the Hospital went and opened up boundaries with surveyors but shockingly recently Ekikina Peter returned with another group of surveyors, the Omiru private group, to do government work making locals sense something unusual.

Plot to share Hospital land

While in Tororo, The Second Opinion smelt from a security tip that a group of top bigwigs from the district authority and some members of parliament are plotting to subdivide the land and share plots to themselves.

According to a close security tip disclosed to us that the land is now divided among 10 plots so far and the top names of those behind to enjoy are already known.

When at liberty we shall expose those names in our subsequent publications.

Peter Ekikina, the hospital board chairperson said he has written to his appointing authority with recommendations and hopefully they will act to see the fencing of 13.7 Acres of land protected.

Ekikina adds that there is need for the district to end the murex contract since he is slow with work and instead acquire services from the UPDF engineering brigade for the completion of the hospital land fencing.