Africa-Press – Uganda. Tensions flared in Gulama Cell, Goma Division, Mukono Municipality, after retired Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIGP) Fred Yiga allegedly ordered the trenching of a key access road leading to the residence of the late road construction tycoon Andrew Kasagga Zzimwe.
The incident, which unfolded over the weekend, has ignited outrage among locals and drawn accusations of land grabbing, abuse of power, and disregard for due process.
Eyewitnesses say Yiga arrived at the disputed road with a group of young men wielding pickaxes and sticks.
The group reportedly began digging a trench across the road, cutting off access to the Zzimwe family home and disrupting public passage.
“We arrived at the scene to find the youths actively digging and blocking the road,” said a resident, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“When Paul Kasagga, heir to the late Zzimwe, tried to stop them by parking his car in the middle of the road, tempers flared.”
What followed, residents claim, was an escalation. The group allegedly tore down the entrance gate and part of the perimeter fence of the Zzimwe residence while Yiga and his wife Beatrice looked on.
Accusations quickly mounted that the group had been hired to carry out the forceful takeover.
Police from Mukono Central Police Station arrived at the scene but were reportedly unable—or unwilling—to stop the excavation.
According to local sources, even after police intervention, Yiga summoned a grader to deepen the trench, and law enforcement left the area without further action.
Paul Kasagga insisted that his family holds valid rights to the access route, which he said his father legally purchased more than 20 years ago from Beatrice Yiga for Shs17 million.
“We have documents proving ownership and access,” he said.
“This road has served our home and the community for decades. What Mr. Yiga is doing is unlawful.”
Nakendo Ibrahim, lawyer for Zzimwe’s widow, backed Kasagga’s account.
“This road has been in use by the Zzimwe family and their clients without dispute for over two decades,” he said.
“What Mr. Yiga is doing is not only illegal, but disgraceful for someone who once upheld the law. This is pure intimidation.”
But Fred Yiga struck a defiant tone. Speaking briefly to reporters, the former Interpol Director and longtime police spokesperson dismissed the Zzimwe family’s claims and denied ever selling any land or access route to them.
“We never sold anything. If legal action is brought against us, we are ready to go to jail,” he said.
Beatrice Yiga also denied the alleged land transaction, raising questions about the validity of the documents presented by the Zzimwe family.
The standoff has stirred deep unease in the community, not only for the drama of a former top police official at the centre of a land conflict but also for what residents view as a broader breakdown in lawful dispute resolution.
Many questioned how someone of Yiga’s stature could act with such impunity while police looked on.
The late Andrew Kasagga Zzimwe was a celebrated figure in Uganda’s infrastructure history. In the 1990s, he founded Zzimwe Construction Uganda Ltd., one of the first black-owned companies in the road construction sector.
His legacy remains influential, with his family continuing to live on the property at the heart of the dispute.
Fred Yiga retired from the police force in 2019 after 32 years of service. He now chairs the Mukono District Think Tank, a position meant to guide policy discussions and development strategies in the area.
But to some residents of Gulama Cell, the weekend’s events paint a different picture.
“If a former AIGP can dig up a road and the police just walk away, what hope is there for ordinary people?” asked one local elder.
As both parties prepare for what could become a protracted legal battle, the road remains blocked—and so, too, does any easy path to resolution.
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