UGANDA, Wakiso | Real Muloodi News | City businessman Hamis Kiggundu (Ham) says fraudsters in Buganda Land Board (BLB) spearheaded by Bashir Juma Kizito are misusing the Kabaka’s name to their advantage as a shield to blackmail and assassinate his character.
In September 2022, the Commissioner for Lands ordered the cancellation of four titles of Kigo land belonging to businessman Hamis Kiggundu, through his company Kiham Enterprises.
The cancellation order was based on a minority report drafted by Bashir Juma Kizito, which contradicted the findings of the comprehensive Joint Survey report made by the technical team commissioned by the tribunal.
The Joint Survey team which was composed of staff from the lands department, Surveys and Mapping, Makerere University, NEMA and Surveyors of the parties, concluded that Ham’s Freehold land titles are on public land.
Therefore, it is unclear on what basis the minority report drafted by the complainant; Bashir Juma Kizito, found otherwise, says Ham.
Ham hence cited bias, and in October 2022, Kiham Enterprises Ltd through its lawyers: Muwema and Co. Advocates appealed to the Land division of the High Court against the decision of the Commissioner Land Registration and to stop the cancellation of its freehold titles in Kyadondo Block 275 plots: 23974,23975,23976 and 23977 at Kigo.
The said titles were ordered to be cancelled on September 6, 2022, unless an appeal was filed within 60 days from the date of the decision, by November 4, 2022.
Subsequently, on November 03, 2022, Kiham Enterprises Ltd’s lawyer, Anthony Tomusange, and the Commissioner Land Registration’s lawyer, Moses Ssekito, executed a consent which the Court relied upon to Stop the Office of the Commissioner Land Registration from Canceling Kiham Enterprises Ltd’s aforementioned titles.
Ham says that BLB fraudsters who were dissatisfied with the court’s decision, have since resorted to blackmailing him and assassinating his character.
According to Ham, the attacks began on November 10, 2022, on the Kingdom’s social media platforms, with false claims that Ham had sued the Kabaka, whereas Ham merely defended himself with an appeal against claims filed against him by BLB.
Ham says his attackers used the name of Kabaka alongside Ham’s Memorandum of Appeal in social media posts to give the illusion of credence to their false claims that Ham had sued Kabaka.
“My appeal against a decision to cancel his titles should not be mistaken for dragging Kabaka to court. BLB should desist from misusing the Name of Kabaka in pursuing their selfish interests”, says Ham.
“Are these the kind of Moral values and cultural norms that we should be teaching to our future generations?” he asks.
The Origin of the Land Contention
The saga originally came to light earlier this year when BLB halted Kiggundu’s plans to build a road connecting the Mirembe Villas and Serena Hotel Kigo to access what he claims to be his territory.
In 2019 Ham, through his real estate company Kiham Enterprises (U) Limited which 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, BLB CEO challenged 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.
Consequently, Kabogoza wrote to the Commissioner of Land Registration demanding action against Ham, whom he accused of trying to grab the land.
The Commissioner ordered a joint boundary opening exercise to determine who the genuine owner of the contested land was following a hearing on cancellation.
The technical team established by the Office of the Commissioner of Land Registration to perform the exercise comprised a neutral surveyor from Makerere University, surveyors and a cartographer from the Department of Surveys & Mapping, surveyors representing the two parties to the complaint, an environmental expert from the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) and officers from the Department of Land Registration.
This official technical team produced a joint survey report that concluded that Hamis’ freehold land titles are on public land and so it was different from Kabaka’s land.
Based on the technical team’s findings, it was clear that the overlapping land owned by both parties was poorly surveyed. The technical team, therefore, recommended a resurvey of several plots of the contesting parties to align them to the common boundary line between public and mailo land.
However, in his ruling issued on September 6th, the acting Commissioner of Land Registration, Baker Mugaino, ordered the cancellation of Ham’s titles, saying he had based his decision on the fact that there was a title overlay against titles that were issued earlier.
“I note that the procedure of allocating the land for the freehold titles were flawed and had irregularities, and the Commissioner Land Registration being the statutory custodian of the land register cannot maintain certificates of title on register where the due process of surveying, area land committee meetings involved illegalities that misled the office to issue titles,” ruled Mugaino.
Mugaino also agreed the disputed land is a wetland protected by law and the doctrine of public trust. Mugaino cited Section 91(2) which gives him powers to cancel certificates where the same is issued illegally or wrongfully.
Ham’s lawyers immediately challenged the decision on the grounds of evident procedural impropriety and irregularities.
The challenge came after Ham’s lawyers observed that Mugaino’s decision was contrary to the official public hearing process the Office of the Commissioner of Land Registration had set up to investigate and handle the land dispute between Hamis Kiggundu and Buganda Land Board regarding the overlap of Kiggundu’s freehold land titles on the mailo land.
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