A widow at Kihande II Cell in Central Division, Masindi Municipality is counting losses after unknown assailants cut down her banana plantation over the weekend.
Sylvia Kiiza, a widow to Henry Birungi, told the press that she weeded her plantation on Friday evening only to find it cut down by yet to be known assailants the next day.
Kiiza said a similar incident took place including cutting down her mango trees. She narrated that her deceased husband, Birungi, used to point at the area village chairperson, Grace Basemererwe, as being against him due to a land wrangle.
This made her suspect that Basemererwe is behind the malicious damage act.
“Recently, Basemererwe came demanding me to pay the debt that my deceased husband owed her but I told her off to go and demand the grave,” Kiiza said.
One of the residents who did not want to be identified by the press for fear of her life purported that she saw Basemererwe and another woman identified only as Annet in the plantation, creating suspicion that they could have involved themselves in the unlawful act.
Another resident, Francis Kwezi, said Basemererwe had for long been wrangling for the land with the deceased Birungi adding that she even allegedly led to the deceased’s arrest and detention for two weeks on phony attempted rape charges.
Kwezi continued that Birungi died after one week of his release from the police cells.
Efforts by our reporter to get a comment from Basemererwe were not fruitful since her known phone number could not available by press time.
However, police went to the scene and recorded statements on malicious damage as investigations into the matter continue.
