Drama ensued on Sunday when residents pelted stones at a priest who attempted to resist a road construction by the Mayuge town council leadership.
Fr. Charles Lwanga the caretaker priest of St. Matia Mulumba religious tourism site in Mayuge clashed with residents on Sunday following his attempts to block the construction of a road connecting to the site.
The proposed one-kilometer road connects St. Matia Mulumba religious tourism site to the Musita-Lumino highway and the rest of the community.
On Sunday, the town council leadership commissioned the road works which involved the expansion of the road to make it motorable leading to the cutting down of bamboo and eucalyptus trees, which angered the priest.
Fr Lwanga parked his vehicle in the middle of the road to block the road works. However, his action didn't go down well with residents who started pelting him with stones. They later towed the vehicle from the road to allow the works to continue.
According to Janet Mulondo a resident, the area is covered with a thick forest comprising of both bamboo and eucalyptus trees, and cutting down some trees to gazette a recognized road will help to curb crime.
She notes that during this week alone, a motorcyclist was killed and his body hidden within the same forest.
The area Defense Secretary Hadijah Kantono, says that she joined the protest following the increased rape cases within the area. She explained that most suspects escape through the forested areas, which has since frustrated efforts to attain justice.
Wilson Mulaabi, the Mayuge Town council LC III chairperson says that following endless complaints from the community, they resolved to expand and reconstruct a standard access road within the area as a means of curbing insecurity.
However, Lwanga stresses that the contested land belongs to the St. Matia Mulumba religious tourism site and the trees were planted as part of their contribution toward environmental conservation.
He explains that since the area has a church, Catholics within the community had created a footpath through the forest to ease access, adding that due to the increasing urbanization, motorcyclists too began using it to access the highway.
