City land board offices sealed off

By Henry Sekajja and James Kabengwa 

Police have deployed at the city land board offices at Kampala City Council Authority (KCCA) headquarters.

The offices are locked using padlocks and policemen are guarding the offices.

Kampala land board chairman Yusuf Nsibambi has however, convened a news conference at Speke hotel in Kampala to express his dissatisfaction over the closure of his office.

Nsibambi accuses KCCA chief, Jennifer Musisi of blackmail. He insists to take legal redress over the matter.  

Police over the weekend wrote to Musisi asking her to take 'necessary action' against the chairman Kampala District Land board over abuse of office.

 The  letter signed by the CID Commander Kampala Metropolitan police, ASP Paul Mugisha with reference Abuse of office and forgery vide CPS CRB 3122/12 Uganda Versus Yusuf Nsibambi and Others advised Ms. Musisi to take necessary action.

"The purpose of this letter is to inform you take necessary action. Progressive reports of investigations will follow." Mugisha wrote to Musisi on May 24.

This follows a row between Nsibambi and the Executive director on the management of city land. Acting on the advice of the solicitor general, Musisi wants the Land board disbanded whereas Nsibambi who described the police advisory as trash argues the solicitor general did not quote necessary law while she gave her opinion.

In May the solicitor general argued that after the formation of the KCCA, Kampala is not a district under local government but a city under the authority under central government; therefore it cannot have a District land board therefore all public land falling under the jurisdiction of KCCA should be managed by the Uganda Land Commission.

"The advice of the Ag. Solicitor general is like a love proposal given to her long time just to make her happy. She makes no reference express or implied to the constitution or the Land Act or any other law," Nsibambi said adding that the land board can only be disbanded with amendments to the constitution or through a referendum.

He instead said that city Mafias in the rich business community and powerful political circles are behind the forgery and abuse of office claims but they are in a futile fight.

Making references to correspondences between the KCCA Human resource, Jennifer Kaggwa, the executive director and the ministry of public service, Nsibambi said that the fight is over the control of the Land board because 'some people want to use it to grab land in the city'.

On April 2 Kaggwa fired the secretary to the Land Board Sarah Kusiima replacing her with Diana Nambi but Nsibambi replied her that no one at KCCA has authority over secretary because her position is permanent and she is answerable to the Boars Chairman.

"Consult the constitution, the Land Act, the public service Act and standing orders on what you refer to as deployment," Nsibambi wrote back on April 5, 2012.

Nsibambi says that the fight is over 15 plots that he has refused to give to land grabbers because they want to take them irregulary. They include Plot 32, Kyadondo Rd, Plot 412, 413, 414 on Makerere Hill Road, Plot 21/27 Bombo Road, Plot 10 Nsambya Rd, Plot 9-11 Nsambya Road, Plot 13-15 Nsambya Road, Plot 17-19 Nsambya Road, Plot 1-3 Station Approach Rd, Plot 2 Tavern Avenue, Plot 5C Colville Street, Plot 15 Shimon Rd, Plot 31 Kitante Rd, Plot 1 Russel Rd and Plot 12- 28 Nsambya Rd.

Some of those plots have already been sold such as: Plot 1-3 Station Approach Road,a plot behind Steers near Kamumukamu Plaza and another one in Ntinda suburbs ."Some of these have running lease but they want me to cancel the leases," Nsibambi revealed in a recent press interview.

Meanwhile, Police is investigating forgery allegations on Plot 2/6 Spring Road, Wankoko. "Forgery of an application form submitted in 2008 against us is meant to cause unnecessary public anxiety. It’s malicious. The board cannot be answerable for something that happened in 2009, a year before they assumed office," Nsibambi said.