Amuru widow reclaims her land after spending ten years in court
The perpetrator was issued an ultimatum to evacuate the land before October 4, 2022; however, he pays deaf ear to the court directive.
By Christopher Nyeko
Amuru: Obitex advocates, a court bailiff executed a court order over the weekend by destroying three grass-thatched huts and uprooting cassava gardens that were planted by Mr. Ojwang Charles in the contested pieces of land.
The execution of the court order came following the court ruling in the land cases between Mr. Ojwang Charles and Mrs. Akot Kala, all residents of Amora village in Gurur-guru sub-county Amuru district.
In February 2022, the Amuru magistrate court ruled that the 10 acres’ pieces of land located just a stone’s throw west of the historical footstep of Guruguru Hill in Amora village belonged to Kala Akot, a 75-year-old widow, mother of six children, and peasant farmer.
The perpetrator was issued an ultimatum to evacuate the land before October 4, 2022; however, he pays deaf ear to the court directive.
Akot’s land was allegedly grabbed in 2010 by one Ojwang Charles, who is the brother of her deceased husband, who died in 1988.
In 2010, the widow sought a local justice system from the local leaders in a bid to reclaim her land; however, her struggles did not yield fruit.
Having failed to acquire justice from the local leader, she therefore opts for court on October 26 in the land cases, which drag for 10 years in Amuru magistrates court without a ruling.
However, on the 27th day of January 2021, Akot secured legal assistance from Redeem International, an international non-governmental organization supporting orphanages, widows, widowers, and poor people in Amuru district to defend themselves from land grabbers.
Attempts to seek Akot’s views on the execution were futile as her telephone was unavailable during the time of compiling the report.
James Komakech, the program manager for Redeem International, told this publication in an interview that cases of grabbing belongings from unprivileged people are many in Amuru district.
He reveals that Redeem is currently following up to 64 land cases, consisting of both criminal and civil aspects.
Out of the 64 cases, 13 have been resolved either through court or by mediation where local leaders are involved.
Noticing that 52 cases are still pending in court despite the fact that they enroll four new clients every quarter,
About 300 acres of land that were already grabbed from the widows, poor people, widowers, and orphanages in Amuru district have been recovered.
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