By Spy Uganda
Matters are not well with city businessman Hamis Kiggundu who is on verge of losing his Makerere based Ham Towers as Buganda Land Board (BLB) ignites fresh battle against him over controversial leases of land on which the tower is sitting on.
Buganda Land Board (BLB) is a professional body set up by His Majesty the Kabaka of Buganda to manage land and property returned under the Restitution of Assets and Properties Act of 1993.
The Board in a letter dated 6th December 2022 wrote to the Commissioner of Land Registration requesting him to expedite the cancellation of Block 9 Plot 923 housing Kigundu’s Ham Towers plus Plots 924 and 925.
The Kingdom’s body accuses the business man of illegally creating the above mentioned private plots on on King’s official Mailo, which is Block 9 Plot 440.
“The illegality with this issuance was that it was issued by Kampala City Council, yet the rightful controlling authority was Uganda Lands Commission. We think that these are fundamental errors that require rectification of the register,” reads BLB letter.
The Board’s CEO Simon Kabogoza’s says the illegal titles were created as a result of illegally sub-dividing Plot 440 on Block 9. Plot 440 on Block 9 was formerly Katikkiroship land which was returned to the Kabaka.
Not First Saga
The new saga follows another battle between Ham and Buganda Land Board over ownership of 140-acre piece of land in Kigo, Wakiso district.
Infact, ealier this year, Buganda kingdom stopped activities by Kiggundu where he wanted to construct a road between Mirembe Villas and Serena Hotel Kigo to gain access to what he said is his land.
Mengo insisted that the land claimed by Kiggundu is Kabaka’s and all titles being peddled were acquired fraudulently. The matter was then referred to the commissioner land registration who ordered a joint boundary opening exercise to ascertain the true owner of this land conducted by surveyors from both parties before he cancelled Ham’s titles.
In his judgment, the Commissioner pointed out that the said land is a wetland given that it is found in the lake reserve area.
“It is therefore my finding that even if the land was public land, Wakiso District Land Board illegally gave out in grant of freehold to Kiham the subject land when the same is a wetland. It was therefore illegal for Wakiso Ministry Zonal Office to title land which was a wetland on the recommendation of the land board,” the Commissioner ruled. (https://mirrorspectator.com/)
There was also a contention on the procedure followed in the allocation of the said land, with Kabaka’s lawyers saying the area land committee used does not have jurisdiction over the said land.
“It is, therefore, my finding that the applications for grant of freehold having been handled by Kajjansi town council yet the land falls under Makindye Ssaabagabo Area Land Committee was illegal and affects the root of the title. The titles should therefore be cancelled having been flouted in the procedure of their allocation.”
The land in question is on block 273, plots 23974, 23975, 23976, and 23977 between Serena Kigo and Mirembe villas.
Earlier on, in March 2022, the city tycoon revealed that his company Kiham Enterprises Ltd was in the advanced planning stages of constructing a multi-billion dollar sports entity on the contested Kigo land, which would be known as Hams Sports Club, Kigo.
