Hon. James Kakooza, one of Uganda's representative to the East African Legislative Assembly-EALA, has survived being lynched by angry residents in Lubowa, Makindye-Ssabagabo municipality over a land dispute.
The incident happened on Sunday at a piece of land measuring 0.22 acres in Lubowa, behind Roofings Uganda Limited that Kakooza is fighting for with his neighbor.
According to the neighbor who preferred anonymity, Kakooza grabbed her land which includes her gate and a wall fence that was erected to serve as the boundary. Kakooza demolished the wall fence, saying it was built in his land.
However on Sunday, Kakooza’s candle nearly burnt down when a mob who claimed that he wanted to grab the land attacked and attempted to lynch him. He was however rescued by the police.
The neighbor alleges that Kakooza instructed the contractor to demolish her gate because it is part of his land, adding that the police asked the EALA MP to halt any developments on the disputed piece of land until the matter is resolved by the village chairpersons, but he went ahead to develop the area.
In an interview however, Kakooza insists that the land belongs to him and will continue with plans to construct apartments on the site.
He claims to have bought the land from Patrick Ssemambo who held the title from 1991 but the woman says she has been on the land since 1992. She added that Ssemambo bought the plot in the early 2000s, not 1991 as Kakooza claims.
Kakooza says he surveyed the land in the absence of his neighbour because she could not be reached for close to two years.