Bishop Stephen Kyebambe accused of land grabbing

The land is located in Kachungiro Village in Buhimba Sub-county in Kikuube district.

Kyebambe is alleged to have grabbed this vast chunk of land from an elderly resident named Anatoli Rugira Itima.

During a locust visit to the contested land, Minister Mayanja was informed that Bishop Kyabambe connived with officials from the Kikuube District Land Board to fraudulently change the land title into his name.

Later on, the pastor reportedly brought the military and police to forcefully evict Mzee Anatoli and his family.

According to the Kikuube Resident District Commissioner (RDC) Amlan Tumusiime, Bishop Kyebambe even had the 93-year-old arrested and thrown in jail along with his grandchildren.

The RDC says Mzee Anatoli purchased the land decades back and acquired a land title.

The pastor, however, reportedly colluded with a District Land Board to cancel Anatoli’s title and process a new one for himself.”

“When I called and asked the pastor on how he got this land, he said it was gifted to him by the King of Bunyoro,” the RDC told Minister Mayanja.

Sam Mayanja Pulse

Kyebambe was supposedly offered the land by the King to develop a particular heritage spot where the 19th century King Kabalega used to play board games.

However, according to the RDC, Omukama Iguru Gafabusa in a recent letter to the Hoima Magistrates Court said he did not own Mzee Anatoli’s land.

The RDC says some time back he had Pastor Kyebambe arrested, but that he was immediately released by the police.

"When he was released, he went to Kampala and reported me to my bosses that I was trying to steal his land," said the RDC

Minister Mayanja while touring the land, found no heritage site being developed by the pastor.

He also wondered why Pastor Kyebambe had to seize the entire 68 acres of Mzee Anatoli if his interest was developing a small part of land.

Mayanja as such said he was to direct the Commissioner of Land Registrations at the ministry to cancel Pastor Kyebambe’s title with immediate effect.