By Andrew Irumba
The land wrangle between Tooro Kingdom Omukama Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru and businessman Allan Bright Kagoro has taken a new twist after the latter petitioned President Yoweri Museveni and Gen. David Muhoozi, the Chief of Defence Forces, to intervene.
TheSpy Uganda has learnt that on Friday Kagoro petitioned the CDF Gen.Muhoozi after he learnt that the engineering brigade of the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF) is the one constructing a perimeter wall around his land under the instructions of the President.
Kagoro and Omukama are involved in a wrangle over land comprised in Block 72 Plots 30 & 31 at Harukoto, in Fort Portal town, near Karuzika Palace.
Whereas Kagoro asserts that he owns the land, a fact that was declared by the High Court in 2016 Omukama Oyo also claims ownership of the same and a few days ago instructed the UPDF engineering brigade construct a perimeter wall around the palace, which encloses the contested land.
Construction of the perimeter wall is part of the preparations for the first ever World Monarchies’ Summit to be hosted by President Yoweri Museveni and Omukama Oyo at his palace in September 2020.
However, it’s understood that Tooro Kingdom officials concealed information pertaining to the land in question from the powers that be and wanted to simply take advantage of the situation, something Kagoro is not willing to let happen.
It is for that reason that he petitioned both the Office of the President and that of the CDF so as to bring to light the hidden facts there to.
We have established that both offices, upon receiving the petitions, promised to fast-track the matter since there’s a high court ruling.
Kagoro, a British citizen of Ugandan origin, accuses King Oyo and his Lands minster Poly of conniving to grab his two plots number 30 & 31 on Block 72 which neighbors the Karuzika palace Harukoto, in Fort Portal town.
It should be noted that a high court Judgement in 2016 declared Kagoro the lawful owner of the land under contention.
Kagoro reveals that in 2012, Omukama Oyo,under whose instructions the kingdom administration was working, tried to grab the said land but Kagoro dragged them to court vide case file number Civil Suit LD No. 27 of 2012, and won the case.
Judgement of the case which declared Kagoro as the rightful owner of the land was passed by the presiding Grade One magistrate Philip Oji, in absentia of Omukama Oyo and his lawyers because they refused to attend all court hearings,
Later, Omukama Oyo appealed the judgement at the Fort Portal High Court but lost it still. He didn’t only lose the case, but High Court tasked him and his kingdom administrators to pay Kagoro and his lawyers the legal costs, plus compensation for wasting Court’s time and that of the respondents.
This website understands that Oyo and his lawyers failed to comply within time,which prompted Kagoro to contract bailiffs who attached a Kingdom building, auctioned it off and recovered their costs.
Genesis Of The Conflict
Five years later, just last week, Kagoro got the shock of his life when he went to routinely check on his land only to find a team of UPDF Engineering department soldiers digging a foundation and they have since constructed a perimeter enclosing it inside the palace as part of the Karuzika land!
“I went to my land and found out that the site is being manned and constructed by UPDF, they’ve surrounded the whole place not allowing any body entry there, they’re busy enclosing my two plots along side,can you imagine?” Kagoro told this reporter via phone call on Saturday.
Kagoro immediately instructed his lawyers of Ngamije Law Consultants and advocates to notify Omukama Oyo, UPDF leadership, RDC Kabarole and other relevant local authorities about the matter, but they are yet to respond, yet construction is ongoing.
The notice written by Kagoro’s lawyers addressed to Omukama Oyo, dated March 9, 2020 reads in part thus;
ILLEGAL INCLUSION OF OUR CLIENT’S LAND INTO YOUR WALL FENCE
We act for and on behalf of Allan Bright Kagoro, who has instructed us to address you as hereunder;
That our client is the lawful owner of land comprised in Block 72, Plots 30 and 31 at Harukoto, Fort Portal Municipality, Kabarole district, having inherited the same from his father the Later Christopher Kawaya, who had acquired it from Fort Portal Municipal Council in 1984.
The land is on the road below the palace and on it is a foundation for our Client’s house.
That in or around 2012 you through several of your agents trespassed on our Client’s land as a result of which he instituted a suit against you vide Civil Suit LD No. 27 of 2012 wherein he was declared to be the lawful owner and execution of the said judgement was done in 2016.
That from that you have made several applications challenging the judgement all of which have been dismissed but you have stubbornly obstructed our client from occupying his land and have now dug a foundation for construction of a perimeter wall fence around our Client’s Land without his consent.
Take Notice that we have instructions from our Client to forcefully evict you and we shall proceed with the said eviction unless you with immediate effect stop your unlawful actions on our Client’s land.”
However, efforts to secure a comment from Omukama Oyo’s press team were futile by press time as they couldn’t be reached on phone.
