Kiboga — Ronald Ainebyoona has been arraigned before the Chief Magistrates Court in Kiboga on charges of forcible entry, malicious damage, and assault causing actual bodily harm, following a violent and unlawful eviction in Lwankonge village, Kiboga East.
The court remanded him to prison until April 14, 2025.
According to the State House Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU), working in collaboration with the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), Ainebyoona and others still at large forcibly evicted several occupants from land comprised in Block 542, Plot 2 on March 14, 2025.
The accused reportedly destroyed plantations and assaulted residents during the takeover.
The disputed 640-acre land is at the center of a long-running ownership wrangle between Mr Badiru Mwanje, who holds a mailo land title issued in 1999, and a group of departed Asians represented by Ainebyoona, who claim rights based on a 1932 freehold title registered under Chikamchadi Shaar Limited.
President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni personally intervened in the case following public outcry and reports of brutality. During a community meeting in Kiboga, Museveni condemned the eviction as “an illegal act and a usurpation of judicial powers,” noting that even he, as President, has no authority to remove anyone from land without a court order.
“Even if I had not issued a directive in 2022 halting illegal land evictions, common sense dictates that disputes must be resolved by courts of law,” said the President. “You cannot evict anyone without a court order.”
The President questioned Ainebyoona’s authority to carry out the eviction and directed his immediate arrest. He also instructed that Mr Mwanje be reinstated to the land pending a legal resolution. Security has since been deployed to maintain order and restore the status quo.
Presidential Advisor on Police Affairs, Ms Susan Kasingye, explained that the eviction was carried out under the guise of a boundary-opening exercise, which was prematurely exploited by Ainebyoona and his group without authorization from any court or legal body.
The Ministry of Lands, led by Hon. Judith Nabakooba, acknowledged that both the freehold and mailo titles appear in official records but are in conflict on the ground. A full investigation into how overlapping land titles came to exist has been ordered.
Minister of State for Lands, Dr Sam Mayanja, and Director of Public Prosecutions, Justice Jane Frances Abodo, also committed to reviewing the legal basis of both claims and investigating potential fraud or administrative errors in land registration.
Brig. Gen. Henry Isoke, Head of the State House Anti-Corruption Unit, confirmed that Ainebyoona faces additional possible charges of criminal trespass, theft, and threatening violence.
Residents reported numerous violent incidents during the eviction, including the alleged assault of Kiboga East MP Hon. Keefa Kiwanuka. The legislator revealed he was manhandled and nearly stripped by Ainebyoona’s men, who only backed off upon realizing he was the area MP.
