By Spy Uganda
A bitter family land dispute in Kyenjojo District spiraled into horror on Tuesday night when a young man allegedly murdered his father and grandmother in a savage attack that has plunged an entire village into mourning.
The grisly incident unfolded in Bulenge Village, Katooke Town Council, where residents say simmering tensions over land ownership finally erupted in bloodshed.
Police identified the victims as Tumusiime Moleteyo, 71, the family’s elderly patriarch, and his son Dragon Bruce, 50, father to the prime suspect. The alleged killer, Twinomugisha Allan, 25, fled the scene and is now the target of a district-wide police manhunt.
According to neighbours, the family had been locked in acrimonious wrangles over land for months, though few imagined the quarrel would culminate in violence. On the night of the tragedy, Allan reportedly confronted his father and grandmother at their homestead, attacking them with a sharp object before disappearing into the darkness.
Shocked villagers said they rushed to the home after hearing frantic screams, only to find both victims fatally wounded. “This family had disputes over land for years, but we never thought it would end like this,” said a tearful neighbour. “We are frightened and saddened by the level of violence.”
Police officers secured the crime scene and conveyed the bodies to a nearby health facility for postmortem examination.
Local leaders condemned the killings as one of the worst tragedies to strike the community in recent memory. They urged families to resolve disputes through dialogue, mediation by elders, or legal redress rather than resorting to violence.
Land disputes remain one of the leading drivers of conflict in rural Uganda. Experts note that weak land tenure systems, corruption, and sluggish court processes often fuel vigilante justice and deadly confrontations. Civil society organisations have renewed calls on government to accelerate land reforms and strengthen community-based mechanisms of dispute resolution to prevent further bloodshed.
