Corruption Hunter Now Hunted: Ssekikubo Accused Of Brutal Land-Grabbing By Constituents
Angry residents, who claimed to be victims of brutal land-grabbing and evictions, on July 12th, 2024, petitioned the Speaker of Parliament Anita Among to intervene and save them from their veteran area MP, Theodore Ssekikubo.
Led by Kisa Kyamukama Yiga, the NRM chief mobilizer, the victims stormed Parliament on Friday afternoon, presenting a petition that requested the Speaker to visit their area, gather evidence, and allow them to express their dissatisfaction.
“Rt. Hon Speaker of [Parliament], the republic of Uganda allow me to bring to your attention the above-mentioned matters,” the head of the evicted families, wrote in the introduction of their petition to the Speaker.
The petition added, “the only hope of Lwemiyaga people in areas of Ntyazo Parish, Bugobe Village, Lwemibu Parish, Kasunga, Kakoma, Konge, Bulongo sub-county, and Kyera sub-county is in your hands.”
The residents alleged that their MP has grabbed 1,736 acres of land, working with a clique of security officers in the district, and has even shot some of them. They claimed that he has “two guns and has been using them to intimidate and harm people.”
The head of Party mobilization told reporters at Parliament, that he reported the matter to President Museveni at the beginning of July after being shocked by what he saw during his visit to the area. He claimed to have seen “buried people and confiscated heads of cattle in their hundreds.”
He vowed to fight against the MP’s atrocities, which have left people landless, homeless, and without a livelihood. He also questioned how an MP who is a “land grabber and murderer” could lead the fight against corruption in Kampala.
He was augmented by one of the victims who wondered how the MP could lead the corruption fight when he was a thief himself, claiming that a consolidation of the land Ssekikubo has stolen would be colossal compared to what he claims he seeks to save from the Commissioners he is vilifying.
She added, “I have always wondered how Ssekikubo would be busy soliciting for signatures to censure people who legally received money while he grabbed vast tracts of land for which when you make consolidation of its value, you would clearly see that he stole much more money”
She concluded “we have come here to register our complaint against Ssekikubo…we are facing it rough with Ssekikubo’s chain of crooks, we need the president to withdraw his guns,” this victim said.
Another victim revealed, “Ssekikubo left many people crying foul because his actions to grab land left many people homeless and extinct their livelihoods,” one of the aggrieved people suggested, “let Ssekikubo be investigated before he investigates his colleagues.
The under-fire Ssekikubo is leading a censure motion against four parliamentary commissioners; Mathias Mpuuga, Prossy Akampulira, Esther Afoyochan, and Solomon Silywanyi for earning Shs1.7bn in service awards.
Now, the aggrieved residents want their MP to be investigated and arrested for his crimes, saying they are not politicking but saving themselves from a man who hoodwinked them.
Grace Nahabwe, a leader at Birongo in Ntuusi town council said that whenever they talk about the MP’s practice of grabbing people’s lands, he turns against them and severely tortures them, to the extent that she is on court bail and feels very timid of what would come next in her life now that she has boldly spoken against Ssekikubo.
The accused MP, however, claimed that he was not bothered by the allegations, saying he is not above the law and that those leading citizens are envious of him and aiming to pull his legs.
“That man [Kisa Kyamukama] is envious of me because I said on the floor of parliament that he could not be an RDC after exposing his behind to the world. The second person he has come with is Burura, a renowned land blocker in Ssembabule. How am I supposed to respond to them?,” Ssekikubo who was in Gulu city to witness the installation of the Archbishop and collection of signatures, said on the phone.
Nevertheless, after gathering some gas, a shocked Ssekikubo with a shaky voice added, “those people went to the president in Kisozi and Entebbe State House, if they go to the speaker, it is up to them. And I want to say, that I am not bothered and I am not above the law I am among the law-abiding citizens and they are aiming at pulling his legs.”
In April 2024, Kazo MP Dan Kimosho raised the red flag on the floor of parliament, wondering whether Ssekikubo had the requisite moral authority to push for a parliamentary debate on corruption accusations yet he had land-grabbing accusations making rounds on radios in Ssembabule involving forceful evictions and murders flying around his head.