In Hoima, law enforcement authorities have apprehended five security guards on suspicion of firing at Dr. Sam Mayanja, the minister of state for Lands, within Hoima district.
The security personnel, who were affiliated with Pyramid Security Group, have been identified as Vincent Omara (28), Vincent Tusingwire (26), Cleophas Kansiime (22), Gad Mairiho (42), and Robert Abekani (25).
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Julius Hakiza, the spokesperson for the Albertine region police, has stated that the detained individuals are being held at Hoima central police station. The firearms utilized in the incident have been seized as evidence and are also being retained at the same police station.
Hakiza added that the police have forwarded the suspects’ case files to the resident state attorney to seek legal guidance regarding the charges related to the alleged act of threatening violence through gunfire.
The security guards were assigned to monitor a disputed parcel of land that is subject to conflicting claims from Fred Mugamba, a business magnate in Hoima city, and over 2,000 inhabitants of Rwobunyonyi, Kirindasojo, and Kihohoro villages in Buraru sub-county within Hoima district.
Reports suggest that local residents had formally petitioned Minister Mayanja, accusing Mugamba of attempting to forcefully displace them from their hereditary land, on which they have resided for several decades. The disputed land area spans approximately 810 hectares.
The affected families assert that they have occupied this contested land since the 1940s and express bewilderment at Mugamba’s claim to the property, given that he is not even a resident of the locality.
During an attempted visit to the disputed land on a Wednesday, security guards reportedly discharged their firearms into the air as the minister and his entourage, including Hoima’s resident district commissioner Rogers Mbabazi, Hoima district police commander Jackson Bogere, and other security personnel, approached the area. Subsequently, the guards fled the scene.
The minister, accompanied by various officials, instructed the security forces within the district to locate and apprehend the security guards involved in the incident.
