KAMPALA-UGANDA/NEWSDAY; Although on March 21 businessman Ham Kiggundu declared he had given up on a disputed chunk of Land in Kigo, he now says he is the rightful owner of land and that Kabaka Ronald Mutebi should back off it.
In March, Kiggundu hit headlines for his involvement in a chunk of land at Kigo which the Buganda Land Board BLB said was owned by the Kabaka.
Kiggundu’s excuse to reignite the conflict is that the Kabaka of Buganda through his lawyers of K and K in a joint petition filed with S and L Advocates on March 23, only two days after he had withdrawn, he was reported to the Uganda Land Commission accusing him of overlapping Kabaka’s Mailo with freehold titles.
”It is BLB who sued Ham at Land office so he has to defend himself. They actually have no legal basis to claim the land,”Ham’s lawyer Muwema told Newsday in an interview.
On March 21 after a visit to BLB at Bulange Kiggundu said he had given up with land.
‘I bought the said land from Wakiso and I was given titles. I proposed to make a joint survey but BLB is hesitant. As a Moslem I can’t escalate this. If they insist it is Kabaka’s land, who I am I to continue the conflict. I have given up with land. I can’t stand to be seen as fighting with Buganda,’ Kiggundu said.
But the fact that BLB chose to continue with their accusations, Fred Muwema says a defense and evidence must be filed-and this was effected on May 12.
The disputed land is located on Block 273, part of the former 16.62 square miles owned by late King Daudi Chwa. Muwema says that an acreage of 164.33 acres, is public land and marked as total lake area- clearly shown on a cartridge map under two parcels of land with that of Chwa being PIN 26 yet the rest of the public land is PIN 20.
BLB Fighting for Serena Hotel
Muwema’s defense a copy of which Newsday has examined, says that vigour with which what drives BLB to claim the land they clearly know doesn’t belong to them is their connections with Serena Hotel Kigo.
‘The talk about freehold titles overlapping Mailo, according to Muwema must have begun after BLB applied to amend the boundaries of block 273 during the creation of a lease in favour of Serena on plot 23042- that explains why Serena holds land under two tenure systems on Mailo land, 37.30 acres and on former public land- 95.34 acres currently owned by our client,’ Muwema says
He asserted that Kiham’s land is situate on public land and that Wakiso district issued the land titles legally with an acreage of 241.56 acres on plot 23720, Block 273. However, on ground there is only 95.34 acres. But Newsday has seen documents from Wakiso disputing the process under which Kiggundu’s company acquired this land.
Muwema says that BLB irregularly made an extension of Mailo land block boundaries to cover the total lake area.
‘We maintain that our client’s titles do not overlap Kabaka’s Mailo,’ Muwema said and asked the Land commission to either dismiss BLB’s claim or institute a joint survey involving BLB and Kiham.
BLB’s surveyor acting criminally
In other accusation, Muwema turned guns towards BLB’s head of surveying Mr Bashir Kizito whom he said is acting illegally to double as a public servant being the district’s staff surveyor at Wakiso and at the same time the head of the survey department of BLB.
”Our contention is that there is actual conflict of interest in the duties of Kizito acting as both a public and private officer. this type of conduct is against the code of conduct and ethics of public service issued under the public standing orders 2010,’ Muwema said.
”Conflict of interest is punishable crime. It arises where a public officer holds a position with or gives service to a person or a private body which is in conflict with his official duties. The tribunal cannot therefore entertain this conflicted public official to pursue a conflicted complaint which derogates all best practices in public law,’ Muwema says.
He also said that Kizito’s survey report is incompetent and inaccurate. Muwema implored the Land Commission to rubbish it and that already, Kiham had appointed a new surveyor, William Matovu.
Kabaka complaint
On march 23, 2022 Kabaka through his lawyers, petitioned the commissioner land registration informing him that Kiham had overlapped Kabaka’s land on Block 273 plot 23720 which had since been subdivided. They called for cancellation of these certificates.
”It has come to our client’s knowledge that freehold certificates of title were erroneously and illegally created over our clients official Mailo. From the survey report commissioned by our client it was established that the freehold interest overlaps the official Mailo interest. The act of creation of freehold certificates over our client’s mailo certificates is illegal and erroneous as two interests that exist in perpetuity cannot exist simultaneously over same land,’ the petition reads in part.
In March this year Kiggundu had attempted to create an access way towards his land but Mengo thwarted the effort. The Uganda National Roads Authority- UNRA which had granted Kiggundu’s firm rights to make the road, withdrew it.
Survey report
In a non-dated report by Kizito, a registered surveyor, he said the land is registered under F.C 18454 in H.H Daudi Chwa measuring 16 miles and 228 acres on Block 273, and others.
‘Kiham’s freehold titles on the other hand comprise in Kyadondondo block 273 on plots 23974 and others measuring 140 acres,’
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