Court Sets Judgement Date Between Kyabatukura Land Victims And UWA

By Winnie Masiika,

FORTPORTAL

High Court sitting in Fort portal on Tuesday set August 30-31, 2023, the hearing date for the judgment between the victims of Kyabatukura land and Uganda wildlife authority.

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The decision was announced by His Worship Ramathan, who presided over court on behalf of the high court Judge, Hon Justice Vincent Wagona.

It should be noted that Justice Wagona had previously ruled with costs in favour of Kyabatukura land victims in a petition they filed against Uganda Wildlife Authority.

In his ruling last month, Wagona noted that without any claim or right, the game wardens and game rangers being agents of the first defendant in 2001, attacked, injured and killed some of the petitioners while in their homes.

He ruled that during the bloody eviction, the petitioners made loses of property including crops on the formerly contested (20,000), twenty thousand acres of land located in Kyabatukura village, Rugendabara Parish in Kitswamba Sub-County, Kasese district.

The judge awarded the petitioner two hundred million shillings as costs for the losses incurred during the forceful eviction.

The defendant was also instructed to gazette within 30 day the names of the affected farmers in a national daily from the date of the ruling, which was done.

Luke Kiiza, the chairperson of Kyabatukura land victims welcomed the ruling and applauded the judiciary for according local farmers fair justice. Kiiza urged farmers to remain calm and wait for final court Judgement.

A total of 428 families consisting of about 5,000 persons were in 2001 evicted from Kyabatukura in Kistwamba sub-county of Kasese district after UWA claimed that the area was inside the boundaries of Kibaale National Park.