By Devine Atwine,
Isingiro.
Mzee Clement Gumisiriza 80 years old a resident of Kabibi cell, Kagarama sub country in Isingiro district has accused Herbert Muhangi, the Isingiro resident District commissioner (RDC) of a frustrating local court judgment that was passed in his favor.
According to Mzee Gumisiriza, the local court of Kabingo sub-county had earlier ruled that Mzee Clement Gumisiriza was the rightful owner of ten-hectare land but the RDC Muhangi ordered the retrial of the case by the same court
For now, the 80-year-old Gumisiriza is seeking the intervention of higher authorities from the central government after local authorities denied him justice even when the court rules in his favor
The ten-hectare land in dispute is located in Kabibi cell, Kagarama sub country in Isingiro district.
According to Ignatius Ssemwogerere, the chairman lc 1 Kabibi cell, the land allegedly belonged to one Mzee Clement Gumisiriza who previously hired it to the family of late Regina Ntongore to temporarily utilize it.
However, when the purported owner attempted to utilize it by himself, the family of Late Regina Ntongore, the tenants denied him access on claims that it’s their land.
Mzee Gumisiriza told our reporter that this forced him to run to local courts that decided in his favor as highlighted in the 2005 Kabingo sub-county court.
According to an 80-year-old Gumisiriza, he won the complainant from LCI to LC3 courts but aggrieved parties have never appealed the decision. The court gave him the mandate to repossess his land but claimants chased him with spears and pangas.
He said, “It was upon the aggrieved party to appeal the decision in higher court which is the magistrate’s court in this case but RDC started threatening that the case should be retried by the same court arguing that the complainant has no money to appeal”.
The New Vision learned that it’s Uganda human rights commission which ordered for the intervention of the magistrate’s court after.
According to the document dated 23th August 2011, Phillip Odoki, the then Mbarara chief magistrate advised that the case be retried in the local count but different court with different people.
Mzee Gumisiriza said the Isingiro resident district commissioner influenced the same court to retry the matter on claims of receiving legal advice from Mbarara court.
According to documents, in the first local council court, Mzee Clement won but lost in the second court by the same people
However, Herbert Muhangi, the Isingiro RDC, denied all the allegations against him.
He advised mzee Gumisiriza to table his issues and appeal if he felt that local courts didn’t favor him.
On the issue of retrying the matter in the same court, DC Muhangi also advised him to appeal it or to come to this office and file his complaint, he will intervene.
