Court rules Kiconco is the rightful owner of Lusanja land; residents given 30 days to vacate

The High Court in Kampala has ruled that businessman Medard Kiconco is the rightful owner of the highly contested land in Lusanja.

In October 2018, over 300 families were left homeless after a controversial eviction at Kyadondo, block 206, plot 271 in Lusanja,

Following the eviction, there was outrage that attracted the attention of a number of people including President Museveni who made an impromptu visit to the said land but early this year, the High Court in Kampala ruled that the eviction was done illegally, promoting Kiconco to go to court seeking for orders confirming him as the rightful owner of the said land.

On Friday, Justice Tadeo Asiimwe ruled that Kiconco rightfully bought the land from Paul Bitarabeho in 2013 and subsequently acquired ownership in 2016.

“Paul Bitarabeho testified that he was the rightful owner of the land after acquiring letters of administration on the same and sold to the plaintiff(Kiconco. “The plaintiff has been found to have rightfully purchased the land from Paul Bitarabeho and is the rightful owner of the land registered in April 2016,”the judge ruled.

Tenants trespassed

The judge also ruled that the 127 tenants who claimed ownership of the land were guilty of trespassing on the same because it didn’t belong to them.

Asiimwe noted that the tenants bought land from Crispa Bitarabeho, who was not the administrator of the land, noting that staying on the same land owned by Kiconco was an act of trespass.

“Trespass is a criminal offence in the laws of Uganda which includes entering one’s land without permission. The defendants, therefore, trespassed on the plaintiff’s land.”

Confusion

Following the controversial eviction last year, there was confusion on where exactly the land was situated.

The tenants insisted the land was found in Lusanja, Wakiso district whereas Kiconco said his land was found at Ssekayonyi, Mpereerwe in Kampala district.

The confusion promoted several politicians including Robert Kyagulanyi, also known as Bobi Wine (Kyadondo East), Rosemary Sseninde(Wakiso Woman MP) Latif Ssebaggala(Kawempe North) to all claim the land was in their constituencies.

On Friday, the judge ruled that the confusion was cleared after a joint survey indicated that the land was situated at Mpereerwe, Kawempe division in Kampala district and that it was not in Lusanja which is in Wakiso district as the residents claimed.

He, therefore, noted that the residents were confused by their area Local Council one chairman, Henry Ssejemba who signed on their buy agreements for plots of land in Kampala district, yet his area of jurisdiction was in Wakiso district.

“They (defendants) didn’t know where exactly their land was situated and the LC1 chairman who signed on their agreements confused them. When I visited the land, I noticed that the land (in dispute) was in Kampala near Lusanja where the buy agreement indicated,” the judge added.

He ruled that the land that the residents bought was located in Lusanja, in Wakiso district and that it was not the one from which they were evicted.

The judge insisted that Paul Bitarabeho was the only administrator of the land in Mpererwe and so he was the only person authorized to sell it to anyone.

Residents given one month

The judge subsequently ruled that since the residents occupied the land in Mpererwe illegally, they had only 30 days to vacate the same.

He noted that Kiconco should take over his piece of land within 30 days without any occupant, warning that if they refuse, the execution division of the High Court will order for their eviction.

Justice Tadeo Asiimwe however declined to issue an order compelling the residents to compensate Kiconco to a tune of shs500 million as had been requested saying they had been confused on where the land belonged but instead asked them to meet the costs incurred by the businessman in the case.

The court also directed Kampala Capital City Authority to immediately demarcate the boundaries of Wakiso and Kampala at the contested piece of land.