By Spy Uganda
Kampala: Lands, Housing and Urban Development Minister Judith Nabakooba has asked the administration of Nabisunsa Girls’ School in Kyambogo to rest assured no one is taking their school land.
Nabakooba who was received at the school premises by Ms Zulaika Nabukeera the headteacher, Haj Juma Walusimbi the Board Chairman of the school and Dr Muhammad Kiggundu from the Office of the Supreme Mufti on October 26 to open boundaries of the contested land was dismayed by the fact that someone is willing to grab school land that Nabisunsa has been using since 1958 and acquired registered interests of the said land in 1992.
“There are no intentions or plans of giving away any part of this land. I would like to assure the community and all stakeholders of Nabisunsa Girls School that the land still belongs to the school and there are no plans of relocating it to any other party,” she said.
The Minister revealed that earlier this month, her ministry convened a meeting between concerned parties after it emerged that there were two freehold titles on Plot M.562 land at Kyambogo and a closer look at the paperwork still reaffirmed that Nabisunsa Girls School was the owner of the land.
To this effect, it was also agreed that a proper boundary opening exercise be carried out to clearly demarcate the school boundaries specifically regarding Plot M.562
“I wrote to the first lady telling her my commitment as the head of the ministry that we shall have this issue resolved. I engaged my staff and Uganda Land Commission to make sure they hold meetings to that effect to enable us to be furnished with details to enable us to put an end to this matter that had become a matter of public concern.”
She added: “To address your fears, the land is for Nabisunsa Girls School, the president told me to come and reaffirm that nobody in this country, however big they are, will take this land. The first lady herself is committed to the education sector and also to the progress of the girl child.”
Haj Juma Walusimbi the Board Chairman of Nabisunsa Girls’School said they were perturbed when ULC said the land should be cancelled. He explained that as a school, they are not against any development or an investor whether local or international but proper criteria have to be followed.
Dr Muhammad Kiggundu from the Office of the Supreme Mufti said the Mufti’s office cherishes education and the vision of their forefathers who had a reflection of having education as a pillar of development.
He said what Nabakooba was doing (opening boundaries) is very eminent and it is going down in the history of Uganda as protecting the education like their forefathers did.
“We made an appeal to you because you cherish girl education. We are happy that the ministry of education is also on this matter and the Education Minister has collaborated with you to sort out this issue once and for all.”
It should be recalled that ULC has been accusing Nabisunsa Girls School of occupying a plot of land in Kyambogo but the school denied the accusations.
The disputed land is Plot M562 which the land commission says belongs to the government and is held under freehold register volume 320, Folio 16.
In a letter dated July 22, the commission wrote to Nabisunsa about plans to fence the land which was later established that it was going to be given to a foreign investor for redevelopment.
“The commission that the said plot was once held under a compound freehold register volume with plot M141 which houses the Girls’ school but the two have since been separated with the Scholl, retaining plot M141 which was subsequently transferred to the board of governors of Nabisunsa Muslim Girls SS as per commission minute 13/2001(a) of 1/3/2001,” the excerpts of the letter read in part.
