By Mulengera Reporters
A dramatic and explosive land battle is unfolding in northern Uganda as Nancy Oryema, the granddaughter of the late former Inspector General of Police Erinayo Wilson Oryema, fights to defend thousands of acres of family land now occupied by armed foreign farmers and powerful local figures.
Nancy Oryema says the disputed land sits in Tangi village in Nwoya District and was first acquired by her grandfather in 1969. The land, stretching thousands of acres, was titled long before years of war forced the family into exile. During that chaotic period, relatives and outsiders allegedly began making secret moves around the property.
The fight exploded inside the courts years later when family disputes emerged over control of the estate. Nancy Oryema says the family took an aunt Ms Auma Oryema to court in 2010 after accusations that the land had been irregularly handled. The legal fight stretched for years until a major ruling came in 2016 by Justice John Eudes Keitirima.
That ruling cancelled a special certificate of title that had been obtained earlier and declared that actions taken outside the estate’s legal administration were null and void. The judgment effectively returned the land to the estate of Erinayo Wilson Oryema.
After the ruling, Nancy Oryema and other family members tried to reopen boundaries and reclaim the property. But what followed shocked them. Police and soldiers allegedly began blocking their attempts to access the land. Soon strange groups of investors started appearing.
In 2018 a group of foreign investors briefly entered the land but were pushed out. For a while the area remained quiet. But the calm did not last.
The biggest shock arrived on May 3, 2024 when a group of Ukrainians suddenly stormed onto the property with tractors, guards and heavy machinery. The group was led by a man identified as Martin Shevchuk, also known locally as Maxim. According to Nancy Oryema, the men arrived claiming they had won a court case even though they were never parties in the ongoing legal battle.
The foreign group reportedly began plowing day and night while heavily built guards patrolled the land. The workers spoke no English and behaved like trained fighters rather than farmers. Villagers watched in disbelief as the group cleared land and expanded deeper into the property.
The Ukrainians reportedly operated under a Ugandan company called AvaGro. They planted maize and soya while pushing deeper into land areas that the Oryema family says were never disputed in court.
Soon the situation turned violent. Buildings were burned, gates smashed, fences destroyed and CCTV cameras ripped down. Nancy Oryema says one police investigator even took possession of a camera that had recorded evidence before it mysteriously disappeared.
Tension exploded again when workers from the Ukrainian group allegedly returned with soldiers allegedly linked to retired army officer Charles Otema Awany, who had also appeared earlier in land documents claiming to have bought part of the estate.
At one point the soldiers reportedly drove at high speed toward workers guarding the gate and attempted to knock them down. Workers ran for safety while the attackers seized and carried away a gate the family had installed to protect the land.
The situation quickly flipped when police arrested members of Nancy Oryema’s staff instead. Several workers spent nights in custody after being accused of assault and even computer misuse for allegedly taking photos during a meeting.
Nancy Oryema says the police response has been deeply troubling. She claims officers appear to be siding with the foreign group despite the land being titled under the Oryema estate.
The dispute has also drawn attention to Top police leadership whom Nancy Oryema accuses of issuing directives that enabled police to act in ways she believes bypass normal court procedures.
At the center of the legal chaos is another court ruling issued in May 2024 by Justice Alex Ajiji. The decision focused on a claim by Beatrice Achola, who said she had purchased a large section of the land. But Nancy Oryema insists the judgment only addressed a portion of the property and did not authorize the takeover of the rest of the estate.
Despite that, the Ukrainian group allegedly expanded operations across the land, crossing streams and moving closer to the family’s home and burial grounds where members of the Oryema family are laid to rest.
The estate covers about 6,400 acres, but roughly 3,000 acres are currently under legal dispute. Nancy Oryema says the foreigners are now moving even into the uncontested areas.
She has instructed lawyers to file a fresh civil suit against the foreign group and their local partners as the land war intensifies.
What began decades ago as a peaceful family estate now stands at the center of one of the most explosive land conflicts in northern Uganda, pitting the granddaughter of a former police chief against foreign investors, powerful local figures and a trail of mysterious court battles that refuses to end. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
