EXCLUSIVE: How Jinja Hospital, Muslim Community Fought for Land Neither Owned

The prime land in Jinja City was the target of unscrupulous land grabbers who used Jinja Hospital as their pad to claim the land but the Muslim community were not ready to let go what they had used for nearly 100 years

JINJA CITY | The land neither belonged to Jinja Hospital nor Jinja Muslim Community. Yet they fought bitterly over it. And in the end they are to share it.

On October 28, the Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Judith Nabakooba, put to rest one of Jinja's longstanding land disputes following a mediation meeting.

In this report, we highlight all the facts you need to know about the land in question, comprised in FRV 204 Folio 24 Plot 31-39 Baxi Road (formerly Nile Avenue) in Jinja City, which has been a centre of controversy between Jinja Regional Referral Hospital and Uganda Muslim Supreme Council Jinja branch (UMSC).

At the height of the feud, the Muslim community held their Eid prayers on the contested prime land, braving the went ground they had only haphardly graded, to hold their prayers.

To clarify, both warring parties did not own this land before; until recently, the land had been under Uganda Land Commission (ULC).

Genesis of the Land Dispute

The contested land is on Plot 31-39 Baxi Road and stretches to Clive Road, measuring 4 acres.

It is adjacent to the Jinja Muslim Cemetery and near the Jinja Hospital psychiatric ward. In 2009, unscrupulous people started dividing this land into plots.

Sensing a land-grabbing bonanza, the leadership of the Muslim community decided to change the gate of their cemetery and constructed a road in the middle of this land to safeguard it.

When Uganda Land Commission learned of it, they lodged a suit before the High Court in Jinja suing Uganda Muslim Supreme Council for trespass under civil suit No. 93 of 2009.

Before the matter was adjudicated, the Muslim community went ahead to make a formal request to Uganda Land Commission, to which, under minute ULC 2/2010 (a)(21), ULC granted this land to Uganda Muslim Supreme Council.

This did not sit well with the land grabbers, who then involved Jinja Hospital management, urging them to also request Uganda Land Commission to allow them use the land for further development. The hospital subsequently joined the legal battle as an interested party.

The matter dragged on until April 2022, when Jinja High Court ruled on the issue.

Until recently, Jinja Hospital did not have a land title on the contested land, though the rest of the hospital land had a land title.

Because of a previous court injunction, the land remained untouched, with no development taking place except small-scale farming by neighbouring community members.

On April 26, 2022, High Court Judge Michael Elubu passed a judgment in favour of the plaintiff (Uganda Land Commission).

The learned judge issued the following decree and orders:

A permanent injunction against UMSC and its agents from trespassing or continuing acts of trespass and interfering with the quiet possession of the suit land by the plaintiff.

He issued an eviction order against the defendant (UMSC) or its agents to vacate the suit land. He consequently instructed the illegally constructed road to be closed, and the defendant was directed to revert to the former access on Clive Road West.

Uganda Muslim Supreme Council was ordered to pay Jinja Regional Referral Hospital, the user department of the suit land, a sum of Shs150 million, which would carry an interest of 15% per annum from the date of the suit filing until payment in full.

After losing the case, the Muslims did not appeal against this ruling but decided to use other means to take over the land.

Minister Mayanya twists the plot

In a letter dated February 5, 2024, UMSC Busoga Muslim region requested the Minister of Lands, Dr Sam Mayanja, to intervene in the matter, and on Tuesday, March 12, 2024, he conducted a locus visit.

The meeting was attended by top Jinja City authorities, the entire top Muslim leadership in Busoga subregion, Jinja Regional Referral Hospital leadership, and some members of the public.

During this meeting, Minister Mayanja declared that this land belonged to UMSC, as they had been the occupants since 1927, when the first body was buried there, turning it into a cemetery.

He also cited Minute 2/2010 (a)(21) of the Uganda Land Commission, where this land was given to UMSC.

The minister referenced Section 59 (1)(a) of the Land Act, which states that "if the occupant applies for titling of the land he is occupying, that land is available to be allocated to the applicant for titling either as freehold or leasehold."

After the meeting, the Minister instructed Uganda Land Commission to assist the Muslims with the necessary paperwork to ensure they acquire a land title for this land.

In his letter dated March 13, 2024, to Mr. Andrew Nyumba, the then Acting Secretary of Uganda Land Commission, Dr Sam Mayanja guided that:

"The Uganda Muslim Supreme Council, as sitting tenants of the said land since 1927, were properly and legally allocated that land under the Uganda Land Commission under minute ULC 2/2010(a)."

"That, as guided by the ULC by its letter dated May 4, 2015, the Commissioner of Surveys and Mapping should forthwith authorize a private firm to carry out the survey works and thereafter forward the corresponding set of certified deed plans to enable ULC to process the title deed to UMSC."

"That the leadership of the UMSC Jinja Muslim District should liaise with the ULC to ensure that this longstanding matter is expedited and concluded within three months from the date of this letter," the minister wrote.

Minister Mayanja's pronouncements on the matter brought joy to the Muslim community, though it was short-lived, as a month later, things changed.

Following his pronouncements, the joyous Muslims began opening boundaries and constructing a perimeter wall on the contested land while awaiting clearance from ULC as directed by the minister.

They sought permission from the physical planning department of Jinja City, though it was not granted; this did not deter them from constructing.

However, the minister's stance on this land met resistance from the Ministry of Health and Jinja Hospital management, who sought intervention from other authorities.

In response to Dr Mayanja's letter, the then Acting Chairperson of Uganda Land Commission, Prof Nyeko Pen-Mogi, informed the minister that there was an existing High Court judgment on this land, which the Commission was enjoined to implement unless it is varied, set aside, or reviewed.

Prof Nyeko also confirmed that ULC granted the land to Jinja Regional Referral Hospital as the user entity. Therefore, until they issue a letter of No Objection to ULC, the Commission's hands were tied to make a contrary allocation.

He also informed the Ministry that Jinja Regional Referral Hospital has, in all meetings, objected to giving the Muslims any portion of this land.

In a letter dated April 3, 2024, the acting Secretary of the Land Commission instructed UMSC to stop any further development on the land.

Since then, several back-and-forth meetings have been held to resolve the matter, but all ended in futility as Jinja Hospital management remained firm on not giving the Muslims even a centimetre of the prime land.

In a consultative meeting held on October 1, chaired by the then acting Chairperson of Uganda Land Commission, Prof Nyeko, and attended by Jinja Hospital management, Jinja City Town Clerk Edward Lwanga, representatives from the Office of the Resident City Commissioner, and other security agencies (where UMSC was absent), it was resolved that Jinja Regional Referral Hospital continues construction of the perimeter wall and block the access route to Jinja Muslim Cemetery.

Since they had already contracted the UPDF Engineering Brigade, construction began immediately.

The development caused uproar among the Muslim community, as they were left without access to the cemetery or parking space.

The National Chairman of Uganda Muslim Supreme Council, Dr. Muhammad Lubega, petitioned Minister Nabakooba, who summoned all the parties, including the Minister of Health, Dr Jane Ruth Aceng.

On Monday, October 28, 2024, Minister Nabakooba arrived in Jinja at 2pm, accompanied by her counterpart for Health and other stakeholders, to conduct a locus visit.

They joined other officials to climb over a wall of Muslim Cemetery, where they toured the graveyard.

Thereafter, they held a closed-door stakeholders meeting at Jinja City Hall, which lasted for more than four hours.

At around 8pm, the ministers held a joint press conference where they announced that the meeting had resolved to grant half an acre to Uganda Muslim Supreme Council to serve as parking space and access to the cemetery.

The ministers proposed that the Muslim Community in Jinja look for alternative land measuring about 10 acres within Jinja City, which the government would purchase for them to use as a new cemetery since the old one is nearing full capacity.

The Deputy Mufti of Uganda, Sheikh Ali Waiswa, in the company of National Chairman Uganda Muslim Supreme Council, Dr Muhammad Lubega, asked the Muslims to be calm, accept what they had been given, and move on.

The following day, a team from Jinja City Council Physical Planning Unit, Jinja Hospital Management, and Uganda Muslim Supreme Council witnessed the boundary opening and surveying of half an acre to fulfill the Ministers' directives.

Both parties left satisfied with the measurements, and the UPDF Engineering Brigade immediately began constructing a perimeter wall separating the Muslim Cemetery from hospital land.

This solution has proven to be a lasting solution to the 15-year land dispute.