Squatters' joy as state promises them 174 hectares of forest land

The Shaviringa settlers spokesman, Frederick Igunza (center) with other settlers during a recent press briefing at Mbale town on February 20, 2023. [Brian Kisanji, Standard]

Richard Nyamage has always cursed the day his family agreed to move from their ancestral land in Mbale to a settlement scheme in Shaviringa, Hamisi sub-county.

His family was among over 300 clans who in 1985 gave out their combined 30-acre piece of land in Mbale to the government in exchange for government parcels in Hamisi.