Civilians Overpower Ugandan Soldiers in Land Dispute Clash
During a heated land dispute, Uganda People’s Defence Force (UPDF) soldiers were physically accosted and disarmed by civilians, prompting the Ugandan military to demand an investigation.
In a statement, UPDF 1 Infantry Division spokesperson Major Charles Kabona faulted the locals for their aggression towards the uniformed men, whom he praised for remaining calm despite the humiliation documented in a video that went viral on Monday afternoon.
“As the soldiers were conducting their routine patrols in the area, they were attacked by one of the fighting groups,” he said, as quoted by the Monitor.
“I would like to commend our soldiers for portraying the highest degree of professionalism and refraining from using maximum force despite their humiliation. This could have turned fatal.”
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In the two-minute clip filmed at Kasokwe village in the Galilaaya Sub-County of the Kayunga District, incensed civilians were seen engaging in a physical brawl with approximately four armed soldiers on motorcycles.
The residents, apparently angered by the soldiers’ presence on the contested land, could be heard ordering the burning of two motorcycles and the kneeling and surrendering of weapons by the soldiers.
Family members of the late Nathan Mpagi (father of the Ssabanyala) and Maj. Baker Kimeze, a Ssabanyala, are arrayed against each other on the one-square-mile plot of land.
A portion of Ssabanyala’s siblings assert that he sold the land to GM Sugar through fraud in 2018.
However, the Ssabanyala, through his kingdom’s premier Martin Ssenkatuuka, refuted the allegations by asserting that his late father Mpagi, and his late associate Adam Kikonyogo both owned adjacent land.
James Murenzi, a manager at GM Sugar, stated that the harassed UPDF soldiers were assigned to protect the company’s properties.
Civilians Overpower Ugandan Soldiers in Land Dispute Clash