UGANDA, Kampala | Real Muloodi News | The High Court of Uganda has refused the Church of Uganda’s request to cancel the land title at Polina Estates belonging to prominent businessman Charles Mbire.
Additionally, the judge presiding over the case, Justice Musa Ssekaana, rejected an application by the Church that demanded that the Commissioner of Lands enter the correct acreage in the Church of Uganda’s title as 0.558 hectares.
The land in question was donated by former President Idi Amin Dada in 1974 and measures approximately 0.558 hectares at Aki Bua Road, Kampala Plot 21.
Justice Ssekaana said that he would not grant the Church of Uganda’s request, given that, “there were some serious issues to be determined in a proper suit to determine the rights of the parties and correct the alleged errors in a bid to conclusively deal with the challenges of the land.”
The court case revealed that Church of Uganda entered into possession of the land, but it was never transferred into its name until October 18, 2006.
However, the certificate of the title did not indicate the size or acreage of the land, which prompted the Church of Uganda in 2018 to request the Commissioner of Land Registration to indicate on the certificate of title the correct size of 0.558 hectares.
“The Commissioner Land Registration, however, indicated a size of 0.301 hectares instead of 0.558 hectares stating that part of the land described as Plot M180 had been leased by the Uganda Land Commission to Polina Estates, predecessor in title of Tarsis Kabwegyere,” court documents read in part.
The Church of Uganda subsequently surveyed the property, in which it confirmed the size of the land as 0.558 hectares and therefore requested the Minister of Lands to intervene and enter the correct land size.
Thus, it concluded that the acreage of Plot 21 measuring 0.558 hectares should be reinstated while Plot M180 is erased from the cadastral map.
The Commissioner of Land Registration conducted a public hearing, in which it was confirmed that Polina Estates’ title had been created erroneously.
However, the Commissioner ruled that the Church should surrender its title to enable the subdivision of the property by creating a title for Polina Estates.
Court details indicate that Polina Estates filed an affidavit through its Managing Director Charles Mbire, the successor owner.
Charles Mbire argued that Polina had acquired the property from Prof Kabwegyere, who had taken possession of the land in question as a sitting tenant in 1994, before selling it to Mr Mbire in 1998.
Mr Mbire also indicated that at no point did the government donate 0.558 hectares to the Church of Uganda. Instead, the government donated one of the two houses on the land.
He argued that the Church had never owned the second property or the entire piece of land. Justice Ssekaana ruled that this issue should be determined in a proper suit.
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