NJERU, Uganda — Armed men over the weekend raided a government-owned stock farm in Njeru, destroying buildings, according to farm officials.
The Njeru Stock Farm is managed by the National Animal Genetic Resources Centre & Data Bank (NAGRC&DB), which falls under the agriculture ministry.
In a report to top management, farm manager Dr. Caroline Wabule alleged that the armed group was led by Wilberforce Muhangi. She stated that the men removed the roof of one structure and damaged farmworkers’ housing.
Wabule appealed for increased police and army security at the facility. “How do we continue staying here when we can’t get any help?” she asked in the report, requesting management to assess the situation.
Wabule recounted that on Saturday evening, staff informed her that Muhangi, armed, ordered them to vacate a building, claiming he would demolish it because it was on his land. She advised her staff to remain inside.
“Shortly after, I was called and told that he had gone and brought about 30 other men with machetes and that they had climbed the roof and were dismantling it,” Wabule said, noting this was the same individual who allegedly demolished a veterinary workshop previously.
Wabule said she went to the farm but was chased off by Muhangi and his men. “He said even if we reported to police, we will not get any help.”
Muhangi declined to comment directly on the incident but said he was defending his land ownership rights.
The ownership of the land is disputed between the agriculture ministry and Internal Affairs Minister Maj. Gen. Kahinda Otafiire.
Last year, the state minister for animal husbandry, Lt. Col. (rtd) Bright Rwamirama, asserted that Otafiire had no claim to the land. This followed Otafiire’s assertion that the farm no longer existed after the original owners, the Ham Mukasa estate, allegedly reclaimed it.
Rwamirama cited an Attorney General’s report stating Otafiire had no interest in the farm.
The dispute has seen previous incidents. In January 2024, Wabule was arrested by soldiers and detained for alleged criminal trespass. That same month, pesticides were sprayed on the farm’s grazing land.
Rwamirama has said Otafiire’s claims about the land’s ownership have been inconsistent, noting a past claim that Otafiire purchased the land from Christopher Lule, who also controversially claimed ownership. Rwamirama alleged Otafiire received 100 acres for assisting Lule in obtaining a land title.
Earlier this year, 300 breeding animals were taken from the farm and later returned injured. Agriculture ministry officials alleged Otafiire orchestrated that raid, which he denied.
Otafiire stated he had no connection to the gunmen and that the Ham Mukasa family, the alleged original landowners, had evicted the farm due to unpaid lease fees.
When asked about a lawyer who allegedly supervised the earlier animal removal and reportedly worked for him, Otafiire said, “Lawyers are like malayas (prostitutes). I do not have control over them.”
Rwamirama maintained that Otafiire never paid for the land but was “rewarded 100 acres after he controversially helped Lule to get the title.”
