By Our Reporter
Atop Business man in Kampala has pinned a senior Commissioner in Ministry of lands to be having vested interests in grabbing their family land located at Block 232 plot 1 Buddu, Kalangala village in Kalungu District, worth billions of money after frustrating High Court orders, TheSpy Uganda has established.
Michael Mulo, a top businessman in Kampala and Masaka has pinned a senior commissioner in the ministry of lands, Mr.Robert Opio to have personally grabbed their part of land and now owns part of it, yet it is still under contention, and that they had gone to his office for justice!
“Mr. Opio grabbed almost 2sq miles totaling to over 1000 hectares of our land as a token by the other party to frustrate court orders and processes. The land he grabbed is located at Block 232 plot 1 in Buddu, Kalangala in Kalungu District,” Mulo decried during an interview last Thursday.
He added that he got to know that Opio grabbed their land through Opio’s junior, a one Ali Wamala after he refused to place a court order on land that required him to put caveat to show that the land was encumbered and therefore it wasn’t transferable until the dispute is settled.
“It was in October 2017 when I went to Masaka Land Registry to verify if the court order was placed on our land as directed by Court. When I reached into Wamala’s office, I discovered that the land in question had no court order! When I asked why, he (Wamala) told me that he could not place a court order on that land because it belonged to his boss (Opio),” Mulo told this reporter.
He further said he went to Opio’s office and asked him why he had grabbed their land without their authority and Opio asked him to bring the proof on the claim.
“When Mr. Opio asked me for proof, I went, got and brought to him a search which indicated that the land in question had no court order as had been instructed, but also I told him what his junior had told me. He remained speechless till I left his office,” said Mulo.
Mulo also told Spy Uganda that after he proved Opio wrong, he promised to convene a meeting with both parties to have their land wrangles sorted out amicably.
“At around March 2018, Mr. Opio called our family at his office in Kampala to resolve our land issues once and for all. The meeting was held at the Boardroom of Ministry of lands and Chaired by one Joseph Kibambe on orders of Opio. During the meeting, we were perplexed to be informed that all land titles which were made after Court issued an Order would be cancelled because they were null and void,” he Mulo.
He said that up to now Opio has never cancelled the said land title yet there is a pending court order. Mulo Further accused Opio that around November last year, Court awarded the land and directed land Ministry to give them the title. The land was located at Block 230 plot 1 measuring around 200 hectares. “Ali Wamala working on orders of Opio declined to give us the title yet court had ordered. We went and petition the Permanent Secretary who ordered Opio to release our title,” Mulo stated.
However this is not the first time Mr. Opio is involved in land matters, January this year, he appeared before the Land Commission Chaired by Lady Justice Catherine Bamugemerire to explain the land saga between Dr. Lumu and Ham Mukasa.
The land under contention is on Block 189, Plot 36 and on Block 189, Plot 16 and 17.
When asked why this land had to be transferred back into the names of Dr Lumu, Opio said there could have been a failed transaction.
Asked why the late Ham Mukasa’s daughters were never entered into the records, Opio said he did not know why because the registry moved from Mailo Registration Volume (MRV) to using Block and Plots.
“My Lord, when we moved from MRV those records were closed and put away. That means no other record was entered into the MRV, but it appears there is a missing record,” he said.
Opio and Banoba are jointly being accused of transacting on the land without the knowledge of the executors or administrators of the disputed land. Bibanja holders and the family of the late Ham Mukasa petitioned the land inquiry, accusing Mr Banoba of fraudulently acquiring and transacting on the said land.
BACK GROUND OF THE DISPUTED LAND
The land with long standing issues between initially belonged to the former Buganda Chief Stanislaus Mugwanya.
Documents further reveal that after Mugwanya’s death, the estates remained in the hands of Yowana Mulo Mugwanya who also died in 1964.It is further indicated that Yowana Mulo Mugwanya died without leaving a Will and hence no heir to manage the estates.
According to Mulo Michael Mulaggusi, one of the sons to Yowana Mulo Mugwanya,after the death of their farther, their elder brother Kabusu Wilfred connived with the Administrator General and fraudulently became the ‘authorized’ administrator of estate but without formal letters of administration.
Mulaggusi further states that after the death of Kabusu Wilfred in Feb 2009, his widow Josephine Nantaya decided to take over from the husband.“After the death of Kabusu in 2009, the Widow threw the family out, claiming the land was hers,” said Mulaggusi adding that the family proceeded to take legal redress from court.
The case was filed in High Court of Uganda, family Division by Jane Kiryokya and other Children of late Kabusu against Josephine Nantaya under civil suit number 82 of 2009.
On August 18 2009, Lady Justice Christine Akello ordered Josephine Nantaya (Defendant) not to sell any property belonging to the estate of the late Kabusu until disposal of the main suit.
In her ruling, Justice Akello ordered the family (Plaintiffs) to forward the proposed scheme of distribution of properties to Josephine Nantaya (Defendant) within the period of one month.
She also ordered Josephine Nantaya to respond to the proposed scheme of distribution within a period of two weeks.
It is understood that Josephine Nantaya disobeyed all the orders given by Justice Lady Christine Akello and went ahead to use the land. Mulaggusi states that in 2015, they filed another case under file number 227 of 2015 at the High Court of Uganda.
On 16th April 2015 High Court Registrar Michela Otto issued an interim order restricting both Parties from using the land.
However prior to High Court orders, caveats had been lodged in the Ministry of lands also to protect the suit property but those caveats totaling 575 in number were completely abused by land Registration officials without regard to the law.
Several caveats were lodged in Masaka, Kampala, Mpigi, Gomba, Wakiso, Mukono and Kabarole.
However, according to the documents we have been able to obtain, some officials from lands ministry have suffocated and frustrated any efforts to end these land wrangles as they seem to be with coveted interests in the same. To be continued……
