UGANDA, Wakiso | Real Muloodi News | A feud recently erupted between real estate muloodi Hamis Kiggundu (Ham) and the Kabaka of Buganda over a 140 acre piece of land in Kigo, Wakiso District.
In 2019 Ham, through his real estate company Kiham Enterprises (U) Limited that he co-owns with his uncle Nakibinge Kaggwa, obtained a freehold title for the land from Wakiso District Land Board.
The contested land is located on Block 273, on the stretch lying between Victoria Serena Hotel and Mirembe Villas, upon which Ham plans to develop a multi-sports complex to include football, basketball, tennis, swimming and boxing, among others.
However, Simon Kabogoza, CEO for Buganda Land Board, challenges Ham’s freehold title on the grounds that it was irregularly issued in the name of Ham’s company, over and above Kabaka’s pre-existing Mailo land title.
Kabogoza has since written to key government offices demanding action against Ham, whom he accuses of trying to grab his land.
“The same [land] is subject of cancellation proceedings at the Ministry of Lands,” Mr Kabogoza says.
Mr Joseph Kayemba, a legal officer of Buganda Land Board, further claims the land is swamp land that touches the shores of Lake Victoria.
“Interestingly the 140 acres is actually not land but part of the lake, so they want to reclaim a lake area,” Kayemba says.
Conversely, sources close to Ham claim the land was already public land by the time Ham bought it, and that Kiham Enterprises obtained approval from National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) and Uganda National Roads Authority (Unra), among others, to develop it.
A standoff occurred on Friday, March 11 when Ham’s contractors started grading and clearing an access road from the Munyonyo Expressway leading to the contested land through a corridor that separates Serena Kigo and Mirembe Villas. The ensuring confrontation between Kabaka’s entourage and Ham’s agents escalated to the point where police were called to intervene.
Following this, a high-level meeting between both parties took place on Monday, where it is reported that they tentatively agreed on some key modalities. According to the report, it was agreed a miscommunication had led to the standoff.
“We agreed that some mistakes were done arising from failure to do due diligence, but everything is on the right path. There is no bad blood as some people are trying to insinuate, and Kiggundu can never fight the Kabaka,” said the source.
“He [Kiggundu] categorically said it is a gross misrepresentation for anyone to claim he can be against the Kabaka because he represents Buganda and the kingdom has supported him too.”
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