TENSION remains high over a piece of land near the Jinja Regional Referral Hospital (JRRH) and Jinja Muslim Cemetery with each side vowing to press ahead to have control.
The saga that has been creeping under the carpet was blown off last week when the State Minister for Lands, Housing and Urban Development (MOLHUD) Dr Samuel Mayanja verbally handed over the contested land to the Muslims.
The Muslims led by the Assistant Mufti/Busoga Regional Khadhi Dr Hussein Mohammed Bowa,the UMSC National Chairman Prof Dr Mohammed Kisambira Lubega and the Jinja district Khadhi Sheikh Ismail Adi Basoga had cried loudly that the Muslim community has been sidelined in matters of properties including land.
Minister Mayanja whose knowledge on law is undisputable(PhD holder) assured the Muslims that he was going to direct officials of Uganda Land Commission(ULC)charged with the custodian of all government land to initiate and expedite the processes of title acquisition for land.
This notwithstanding a civil suit number 93 of 2009 instituted by the ULC against the UMSC9as defendant which ruling was made on 18 April, 2022 with costs in favour of ULC.
Since that time UMSC has never bothered to appeal against the ruling with some Muslim clerics arguing that there is nothing in the ruling indicating that the land belongs to JRRH.
Actions Taken by the Muslims in Jinja:
The ground has been cleared, razing down the crops belonging to some health workers who have been using the land to support their domestic food nutrition, considering the current economic hard times.
The Muslims have continued to mobilize their wealthy members who are ready and willing to hit the ground with building materials once their plan is approved by the Jinja City Council authorities.
This is based on a directive by the Minister to the Town Clerk Edward Lwanga and the City Physical Planner Charles Napendo to approve the building plans for the land once the Muslim leaders submit it to Town Hall.
A temporary shed has been put in place where Muslims in Jinja will this Friday conduct their Juma Prayer to thank God (Allah) for the gift of the land which they had pursued for decades.
After the prayers, the Muslim leaders are expected to fence off the land in the course of the coming days and weeks as a preventive measure against potential encroachers, namely the JRRH.
What has the JRRH officials Done:
The Hospital Board of Governors (BOG) led by their chairperson Dr David Mukisa on Thursday held a news conference at the hospital boardroom where he assured members of the general public that every effort is being done to salvage the situation.
Without mincing words, Dr David Mukisa who was flanked by a fellow BOG member Peter Kisambira told journalists that a handful of tycoons instigated the saga because they want to construct commercial buildings on the land.
Dr Mukisa was shy to mention the names but intimated that a number of Muslims have confided in him that the land saga is a project of a few individuals who are using the name of Muslims as cover up.
Officials from JRRH have already consulted with the First Deputy Prime Minister/Minister of EAC Affairs Rt Hon Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga who is already following up.
He also told reporters that the office of the Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP) Maj Gen Katsigazi to ensure that the police is deployed to maintain the status quo by stopping any further activities until the matter is resolved.
The Hospital administration has also engaged with development partners and foreign individuals who had already committed millions of dollars to expand vital facilities like the regional Blood Bank for Busoga, a CT Scan facility, Interns Mess, Multi Purpose Hall, among others as a confidence-restoration strategy following the unfortunate development.
Dr Mukisa also disclosed that they will engage all the religious leaders from Busoga like Busoga Diocese, Central Busoga Diocese, Southern Busoga Diocese, Jinja Diocese (Catholic), UMSC, Seventh Day Adventist and the Born Again Churches as well as Pentecostals to weigh on in the matter.
Being the biggest regional hospital for Busoga, Dr David Mukisa disclosed that plans are in advance stages to also seek guidance and counsel from the Kyabazinga His Royal Highness William Wilberforce Kadhumbula Nadiope Gabula IV on the now stingy matter.
In all these and other efforts, Dr David Mukisa says their aim is to find amicable ways and means of resolving the matter so that some myopic and unscrupulous people do not ‘religionise’ it.
A group of NRM supporters calling themselves Concerned Citizens on Thursday stormed the Hospital with the intention of a demonstration but were quickly calmed down and received by the administration.
The women who are patients of different ailments like diabetes and hypertension, among others use the occasion to appeal to the political leaders to reach out to President Yoweri Museveni to intervene in the matter.
Some analysts fear the matter could go out of hand unless key stakeholders step in to deescalate the situation from sliding into chaos to become a security threat to the population and patients who use the hospital, which is in the centre of activities.
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