Minister Mayanja directs on Bwaise market land 

The state minister for Lands, Sam Mayanja has written to the Kawempe Resident City Commissioner to give directives in regards a contested peace of land between Bwaise market vendors and Buganda Land Board.

The land in question is comprised in Kyadondo Block 203, Plot 5723, Kawempe Municipality in Kampala district and has been a source of contention for a number of years.

The minister says in an August, 12 letter that having received a petition from Bwaise market vendors who complained of eminent eviction, he visited the said and among the issues he found out were that the market has been in operation for 60 years .

According to Minister Mayanja, this automatically means that those currently operating the market ought to be given the first opportunity to own the land either through purchase or leasing.

“This is their right as sitting tenants,” Mayanja says in his letter.

The minister explains that the vendors reported that they question the ownership of the land after seeing  a land title in the names of Buganda Land Board Limited and from the record at the Uganda

Registration service Bureau (URSB), this company is a private company with only one shareholder who is the Kabaka of Buganda.

Quoting the vendors, Mayanja says Buganda Land Board Limited leased out this land for 49 years to another company called Rexba Holdings SMC Ltd whose shareholders are Ssebasajja Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II with 99 shares and Prince Crispen Jjunju with 1 share and that Rexba sub-leased the same to Kabah Holding SMC Limited whose shareholder is Kato Haruna.

The minister says the facts show that by a March, 30, 2021 sub-lease agreement, Kato was given a sub-lease of 99 years.

Directs

According to minister Mayanja, the Traditional Rulers (Restitution of Assets and Properties) Act stated in section 2(2)  that a  traditional ruler to whom any asset or property is transferred under this section shall, in the case of land, have the same estate or interest as was previously held by the Uganda Land Commission in respect of that land.

In this regard, he says  any land dealt with under this act continues to be public land and therefore  cannot be administered by a private individual be person or juridical.

“In view of the above I directed and re-iterate that the above captioned land is still public land and administered either under Article 237 by the Uganda Land Commission or Article 240 by the appropriate District Land Board,” Mayanja said.

He insisted that the current sitting tenants must be given the first opportunity to purchase or be offered either freehold title or leasehold to develop this market in accordance with the law.

“The current tenants on the above captioned Bwiase market must continue using the market in quite

possession and must be extended protection by the District Security Committee at all times.”

The minister directed that the Kawempe DPC be investigated and subjected to disciplinary action over the manner he has been handling the issues surrounding the said land.

The letter has been copied to the State House Anti Corruption Unit, KCCA Executive Director and Minister for Presidency among others.