By Peter Abanabasazi
Members of Parliament in Kikuube district have called on government to degazzate a portion Bugoma forest reserve land to resettle Bukinda evictees.
Last year in February, a group of 2000 evictees who included children, women, men and older persons pitched a camp at Alex Tumusiime’s land located adjacent to the office of the Kikuube Resident District Commissioner (RDC) Amlan Tumusiime.
The group has since last year stayed in the camp as they waited for the government to return them back to their ancestral land in vain.
However, last week Alex evicted the group from his land on the grounds that he wanted to start utilizing it.
After their eviction from the camp, the group pitched camp at the home of the Buhaguzi County Member of Parliament Francis Kazini while others settled at the home of the Kikuube district woman MP Florence Natumanya.
Speaking during a press conference over the weekend, Florence Natumanya says they have done everything to see that the evictees get settled back to their land in vain.
She demands that if the government cannot afford to take them back to their land, an alternative land should be provided to settle them.
She notes that several people have encroached on Bugoma forest and appealed that at least one square mile of land should be degazetted to settle the evictees.
Francis Kazini, the Buhaguzi County legislator wonders why the government is leaving its own citizens to suffer in the favor of refugees.
He demands that the government gets land elsewhere to settle the group to save them from the suffering they are undergoing.
He also suggested that the government gets a small part of land from Bugoma forest reserve and settle the people so that they can grow food for their families.
