A couple in Bukomansimbi district has been attacked and hacked to death by machete-wielding thugs due to land wrangles.

This incident happened on September 23, 2024, in Kyansi village, Butenga rural sub-county in Bukomansimbi district. The couple in question was identified as Joseph Bukenya and Susan Namukasa.

According to the locals, the machete-wielding thugs first set Bukenya’s house on fire, which prompted him and his wife to run outside; however, the assailants were outside waiting for them and hacked them to death, then whisked off the crime scene.

The eyewitnesses added that Bukenya was possibly murdered due to some land disputes that have been going on between him and the person who sold him the land where he built his house.

’’The person who sold Bukenya the land has been trying to steal it back from him and also forcefully evict him off the land; however, he had reported this matter to court, but unfortunately he has died before justice prevailed,’’ the eyewitnesses said.

During an interview with one of the locals identified as Jimmy Walugembe, Bukenya disclosed that the person who sold the land to him had been threatening to cause harm to him and his family because Bukenya won the case in court that proved he was unlawfully stealing Bukenya’s land after selling it to him years back.

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Walugembe added that when the death threats against Bukenya’s life increased this year, Bukenya went to the office of the Deputy RDC of Bukomansibi district, Pax Fred Ssalongo Kalema, to report this case, and they were still investigating by the time of his death.

“Bukenya and Namukasa were gruesomely hacked like minced meat, and it is so sad that the person who sold Bukenya this land years back turned against him and started threatening to kill him and forcefully tried to evict him off the land because he had gotten a person who was going to give him more money than what Bukenya paid for years back, but justice will prevail soon,’’ Walugembe revealed.

Kalema confirmed this incident, saying that investigations to catch the culprits commenced and they will be arrested soon.

Kalema added that Bukenya was receiving many death threats from the person who sold the land to him; however, the matter was being handled by his office at the time of the victim’s death.

’’Investigations are going on, and the suspects are going to be caught soon and will be tried for murder,’’ he emphasized.

Recent reports indicate a troubling surge in violence linked to land disputes in Bukomansimbi and surrounding areas, particularly in Greater Masaka. Police recently reported that between July 22 and August 23, 2024, at least 15 people had been killed in attacks attributed to land conflicts, with many incidents occurring in Bukomansimbi, Lwengo, and Masaka districts. The Uganda police spokesperson, ACP Kituuma Rusoke, noted that these killings often involve family disputes or neighbors hiring assailants to resolve land disagreements violently, and this has raised fears among residents and prompted calls for increased police presence and community vigilance.