Police goes after land-grabbing city tycoons

The vice is most common in the metropolitan area of that encompasses Kampala, Wakiso, Mukono, and Mpigi districts.

The probe was reportedly sanctioned by President Museveni following a public outcry over illegal evictions.

The Deputy Inspector General of Police, Major General Tumusiime Katsigazi, confirmed last week that the investigation is ongoing but declined to name the suspected tycoons.

“It is true we are investigating them [tycoons]. They have been using land officers to take people’s land and this has very many people stranded. We want to get to the bottom of this matter and apprehend all those tycoons and land officers involved because there are so many cases out there of people being displaced and we cannot watch this impunity to continue,” Maj Gen Katsigazi said.

Katsigazi said that police have made a breakthrough in their investigations and that the public will get to know the findings when the exercise is completed, adding that any police officer implicated in illegal land eviction will be dealt with according to the law.

He asked police officers to stick to the law when carrying out operations and avoid being ‘used’ by tycoons.

“What has been killing us is that instead of the district police commanders (DPCs) stopping the rich man from carrying out an illegal eviction, they side with him to terrorise the poor," he said.

He added, "Actually, some court orders are fake; [they are] written by court clerks, not court registrars, and they work with police. But it is a more complex issue because other problems are caused by land offices which create multiple land titles on one plot of land."

Police appreciated the fact that land matters are complex and need extra attention to solve.