State Minister for Lands, Sam Mayanja has appealed a recent court order that stopped him from interfering with Kabaka’s land in Kaazi, Wakiso district.
The High Court last week stopped the minister and any of his agents from interfering with the land.
However, in his appeal, the minister together with the senior presidential advisor, Phionah Barungi say the applications leading to the court order against them were heard and granted ex parte without according them the right to be heard.
“The Attorney General and the Commissioner of Land Registration, who were the only parties served, purported to consent to the applications, such as Miscellanea Cause No. 167 of 2025, without the authority or knowledge of the other respondents,” Mayanja says.
He says the Attorney General and the Commissioner of Land Registration, who were the only parties served, purported to consent to the application in Miscellaneous Cause No. 167 of 2025, which allowed the Respondents to file Miscellaneous Cause No. 175 of 2025 and all resultant applications without the knowledge, authority or participation of the other respondents, including himself.
“ The trial judge erred in law when he proceeded to entertain a consent settlement in Miscellaneous Cause No. 167 of 2025 without all the Respondents' participation.”
The minister together with the presidential advisor to whom the court order stopped from interfering in the Kaazi land say the trial judge entertained the two applications in error as there was no proof of personal service upon the Applicants by the Respondents.
“The lack of service of pleadings and hearings notices is a procedural irregularity on the face of the record, and the same justifies the setting aside of any such resultant proceedings,” they say.
They note that the failure to serve the duo violated the principles of natural justice, specifically the right to be heard, adding that whereas they notified the court of the irregularities, no corrective steps were taken.
The minister notes that it is in the interest of justice, fairness, and respect for due process that the ex parte orders and rulings be set aside, and the matters heard afresh with all parties involved available.