By David Serumaga
It’s now been two years since the Buganda Land Board and the businessman, Hajji Hamis Kiggundu started having legal battles over land.
First of all, we came to know about these issues when Ham was stopped from developing land in Kigo, Wakiso district where BLB officials claimed that it belonged to Kabaka of Buganda, His Majesty Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II.
Ham, like any other devoted Muganda who respect his King went to Mengo where he officially declared that he had left the Kigo land because he did not want to go into legal battles with Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II.
After declaring that he had left the land in Kigo, officials from BLB wrote to the Commissioner Land Registration asking Ham to appear before the commission to answer questions about the same land he had vacated in respect to Ssabasajja Kabaka.
This led Ham and his team to respond to this letter and appear before the commission but with a request of boundary mapping which BLB objected to.
In the meeting, it was discovered that while Kiham Enterprises (U) Ltd (under Ham Kiggundu) was acquiring land titles from Wakiso District Land Board, Mr Kizito Bashir Juma who is the District Staff Surveyor and at the same time and official of Buganda Land Board participated in the process of creating by checking and okaying the subdivisions of freehold land titles over former public land and this happened on July 14th 2020.
On 16th September, 2022, Kiham Enterprises Uganda Limited logged an official complaint to the president of the Institution of Surveyors of Uganda and the Secretary of Surveyors Registration Board against one of their members Mr. Kizito Bashir Juma over conflict of interest and misconduct in the matter of land distribute between Kiham Enterprises (U) Limited and Kabaka of Buganda on land comprised in Kyadondo Block 273 FRV Wak 6104/25, Plots 23974, 23975, 23976 and 23977.
We all thought that these matters would be sorted amicably since Ham and the Kabaka are in good terms and being that Ham has also been committed in participating in Buganda programs.
However, just before we went for Christmas holidays, Buganda Land Board came again in a new twist wrote to the Commissioner Land Registration, Ministry of Landas, Housing and Urban Development calling for cancellation of Block 9 plots 923 housing Ham Towers plus plot 924 and 925.
It is unfortunate that all these are happening between Buganda and its grandson.
It is astonishing that the BLB is pushing away a fellow Muganda who has done a lot of investments in Buganda and he employs thousands of Kabaka’s subjects who are Baganda.
Let us assume that Ham had in any way made a mistake.Ccouldn’t it be right for our Katikkiro, Owek. Charles Peter Mayiga and other religious leaders to intervene in these matters before they escalated into the media because ‘’Akuba owuwe akuba awumbawumba’’.
We saw this when the Chief Justice, Hon. Alfonse Owiny Dollo had made a statement against Buganda Kingdom, days later, religious leaders and other opinion leaders took him to Mengo and received by Katikiro Charles Peter Mayiga something which showed respect and reconciliation among leaders.
We have been calling for same so that a Muganda does not destroy a Muganda and we are still waiting for this gesture.
Us the Baganda, we have started to believe that there are just envious individuals who want to put Ham down using their mafia tactics.
The people who are fighting Ham Kiggundu are the enemies of our kingdom and progress of uniting Baganda.
We cannot achieve the federal we are yearning for if a few individuals are committed to put down our own Buganda investor and job creator.
The togetherness (Obumu) which Katikkiro Charles Peter Mayiga has been encouraging us to practice is not shown anywhere in Ham’s case.
A kingdom is known to be strong when its people are all united meaning that when individuals with hidden interests push away the others, it leaves the King insecure.
David Serumaga is a concerned Muganda
