The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Whistle-blowers, who are also claimants in the 7.5 billion shillings land acquisition by Uganda Free Zone Authority in Wakiso district, are demanding security protection from government through the Land Commission of Inquiry.
They say their lives, homes and properties are under threats from some of the people being investigated by the Land Commission of Inquiry for fraudulently registering the land, selling it to Uganda Free Zone Authority and causing taxpayers a loss of 7.5 Billion shillings in the procurement.
The whistle-blowers are Augustine Bukenya Muwuluzi, Robinson Matovu, Erica Ngoye Makumbi, and Judith Nalubega.
Bukenya petitioned the Land Commission of Inquiry for protection on behalf of others on Wednesday evening while appearing before the Lady Justice Catherine Bamugemereire led Land Commission of Inquiry to explain circumstances which surrounded the scandal.
Augustine Muwuluzi Bukenya told the Commission that they are the administrators of the Estate of the Late Samuel Kironde, located in Mengo Busiiro Block 536 Plot 534 measuring 42.816 Hectares which was fraudulently acquired and sold to Uganda Free Zone Authority (UFA) for setting up Free Zone Industrial Park in Wakiso district.
Bukenya, 75, a former accountant in the Ministries of Commerce, Agriculture, Finance, Lands, Education and Animal Resources said the security threats against them began as soon as the scandal came to the public limelight through several of their whistle-blower letters and media publications.
The Land Commission of Inquiry Chairperson Lady Justice Catherine Bamugemereire said the Commission security team will undertake security needs assessment for the whistle-blowers who are also claimants over the same land for the Commission to fully understand the situation.
Bukenya who said he is now resident in Mityana utilized the appearance to demand for compensation over the land saying they are the bonafide owners of the land having acquired it from their late father, Samuel Kironde.
Bukenya used different documents to demonstrate how hard they fought tooth and nail to prevent government losing the shillings 7.5 Billion to fictitious landowners resident in Kampala, Eng. Dick Lutaya and Paul Bukenya.
He said they wrote to Permanent Secretary Ministry of Finance, Executive Director Uganda Free Zone Authority, the chairperson board of Uganda Free Zone Authority, the Inspectorate of Government (IGG) and the Commissioner for Land Registration in the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development to either investigate the claims of Eng. Dick Lutaya and Paul Bukenya over the land, halt payment or cancel the title they hold over the land – succeeding in some efforts and losing some as well.
According to Bukenya, government ignored their whistle and went ahead to pay for the land.
Eng. Dick Lutaya and Paul Bukenya claim to have purchased the land comprised on block 535-540, Plot 140, 149, 161 and 162 Folio 21 in Buwaya, Busiiro County, Wakiso District measuring more than 400 acres on January 29th 2008 from Namirembe Eseza, Nankya Cisse Nakazi and others.
Meanwhile, those of Augustine Muwuluzi Bukenya allege that the contested land was originally 5.5 square miles and belonging to Gabunga Nsubuga, from whom George Enyango Nsubuga acquired 771 acres and gave his son Samuel Kironde (Augustine’s father) 125 acres.
“Only 105.8 acres is located in the disputed area. Another 19 acres is located in a different place on which there is no dispute to date. And our father Samuel Kironde registered the land on Blue page on February 16, 1963. He died in 2004 before we had transferred it to a white page” he stated adding that they learned about the double titling as they attempted to register the land on White paper to secure a proper title when their lawyer Samuel Ajungule of Ajungule and Company Advocates discovered the fraud from Ministry of Lands.
“My Lord, on 08.01.2018 our title was granted under instrument KLA 575686 to Augustine Bukenya Muwuluzi, Robinson Matovu, Erica Ngoye Makumbi, and Judith Nalubega – who are all administrators of the estate of late Kironde Samuel for land at Mengo Busiiro Block 536 Plot 534 measuring 42.816 Hectares after we provided proof of ownership which included letter of administrator signed by Justice Wilson Musene Musalu” he stressed.
The Commission heard that the acting commissioner of Land Registration Robert Opiyo has since cancelled the titles of Paul Bukenya and Engineer Dick Lutaya on 06.12.2018 under deregistration of titles Act CPA 230 and Land Act CPA 227 for land located at Busiiro Block 535 – 540 Plot 483 and 326 land at Buwaya and Busiiro Block 536 Plot 534 Land at Kyazi following complaints from the Four administrators after learning that they fraudulently annexed other people’s land onto theirs.
The Commission is investigating the matter under the first and fifth Mandates which states that “Investigate and inquire into the law, processes and procedures by which land is administered and registered in Uganda” concerning the double titling which has resulted into this bitter opposing claims over the same piece of land.
The other is to “assess the legal and policy framework on Government land acquisition” to ascertain how Ministry of Land awarded another title over the subsisting title in order to determine the bonafide owners.
Early this month, State Minister for Investment Evelyn Anite petitioned the Land Commission of Inquiry to investigate Uganda Free Zone Authority (UFZA) and the Procurement Unit of the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development for buying the ‘ghost’ property.
She said the investigations should start from Uganda Free Zone Authority to ascertain the property they bought and from whom to recover taxpayers money they wasted on the non-existent property.
Anite says the land, which cost taxpayers Shillings 7.5 billion, has encumbrances, which makes transfer of ownership to Uganda Free Zones Authority legally untenable, disclosing that several attempts to transfer it to the authority for government to use in setting up a Free Zone Industrial Park have failed.
Uganda Free Zone Authority (UFZA) is a government agency under the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development’s Investment and Privatization supervised by State Minister in charge of Investment and Privatization Evelyn Anite. It is charged with among others setting up Free Zone Industrial Parks for manufacture of goods predominantly for exports.
The Executive Director of the Authority Richard Jabo and Professor Katende Ssempebwa – whose law firm bided for the Procurement of the Wakiso Property are expected to appear before the Land Commission of Inquiry on Monday next week to explain the procurement process of the land, where it is located and its rightful owners.
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