UGANDA, Kampala | Real Muloodi News | Over 1,210 individuals fear eviction as they are caught in the middle of a land row involving real estate billionaire Joseph Yiga Magandazi nicknamed Jomayi, owner of Jomayi Property Consultants Ltd, and Lt. Gen. Henry Tumukunde, a previous presidential candidate.
The property in dispute is 200 acres in size and is located on Mityana Road in Mpigi district at Njagi, Bujjuko, Jomayi Satellite Estate.
According to court records, Jomayi and Tumukunde signed a sales agreement in December 2012, stating that Tumukunde sold land to Jomayi for USh3.5 billion. It went on to say that Jomayi had paid over USh2.9 billion, with a balance of over USh900 million due in three months. Tumukunde alleges that Jomayi did not pay the balance after repeated reminders, causing him to terminate the selling deal.
When Tumukunde sought to terminate the contract in 2015, Jomayi took him to the commercial court. The litigation resulted in a consent judgment approved by Judge (rtd) David Wangutusi that Jomayi shall pay down the outstanding debt of nearly USh1.3 billion at a rate of 15% per annum.
It was also decided that the money would be paid in four payments of around USh283 million starting July 1, 2015.
Tumukunde was also obliged to put the land title, photographs, and transfers in court custody until full payment was made, but this was all for nothing.
According to the execution order signed by the commercial court registrar on November 9, 2021, Tumukunde was authorised to sell the estate to collect the remainder of USh1 billion and an interest of 15% imposed on the money in 2015.
Tumukunde has already directed Elders Court bailiffs and Hai General Agencies to carry out the court’s decision. The eviction of the residents on the land was supposed to take place last Friday, December 18.
Residents, led by their chairperson, Ivan Byaruhanga, have pledged to fight the eviction, claiming to be legitimate purchasers.
“We all have sales agreement from Jomayi, we paid our money and we are waiting for Jomayi to give us our titles and Tumukunde has no powers to evict us,” Byaruhanga said.
Byaruhanga also criticises the court for approving the eviction, which is detrimental to their interests because they purchased the land from Jomayi.
Instead of ordering their eviction, he claimed that the court should have authorised Tumukunde to use additional Jomayi assets to retrieve his money.
“We suspect that Jomayi and Tumukunde have connived to evict us after taking our money, but we are not going to accept it unless they kill all of us,” Byaruhanga added.
John Nkundizana, 62, has petitioned President Yoweri Museveni, Lands Minister Judith Nabakooba, and Col. Edith Nakalema for help.
Jane Frances Namazzi, 82, said: “I suspect that Tumukunde and Jomayi want to cheat us. How would he have allowed Jomayi to advertise and sale the land to us yet he knew he had never paid him?”
New Petition
Simultaneously, the residents have appealed to have the consent judgment and following execution order set aside, claiming that it is severely adverse to their interests, which the court has ignored and has not considered.
Through their lawyers, M/s Stellah Busingye and business advocates, they allege that the discovery of new and convincing information is cause enough to revisit the consent decision and execution order.
The hearing for the petition was set for Tuesday, December 21, 2021.
Attempts to reach Tumukunde and Jomayi for comment were useless since calls to their known cellphones went unanswered.
Similar Legal Cases
NC Bank sued Jomayi last year to liquidate business over a USh925 million debt.
The debt was incurred due to a 63-acre property deal in Block 410, Plot 20 in Sisa in the Wakiso area.
According to court papers, Jomayi entered into a consent judgment with the bank on September 11, 2019, to settle its outstanding debt of USh1.1 billion over a failed land deal by December 30, 2019, but it was in vain.
Magandazi argues in the counterclaim that the receptionist Bosco Ounya, who supposedly got the statutory demand notice from the bank, never delivered it to management.
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