Kabaka in land row with a clan head

By Andante Okanya

KAMPALA - The Kabaka of Buganda has sued the head of the Nte (cow) clan, purporting that he fraudulently entered his personal name on a leasehold certificate for land in the city suburb of Katwe, owned by the Kabaka.

On February 4, Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II filed a civil suit at the land division of the High Court in Kampala against Samuel Miwanda Katongole.

Court documents indicate that the contentious land is comprised in Kibuga LRV 4359 Folio 13, Block 7, Plot 1082, measuring approximately 0.318 hectares.

The Buganda king accuses Katongole of misappropriating the land for his personal interest, putting the name of the Kabaka to shame.

"The plaintiff shall aver and contend that the first defendant's [Katongole] illegal, unlawful and/or fraudulent actions have resulted into loss of respect to the institution amongst the subjects in as far as they now think and/or believe that institution and the Kabaka himself have started conniving with certain people to defraud the institution of her land and other cultural belongings," the plaint states in part.

The court documents name the plaintiff as His Royal Highness the Kabaka of Buganda. The commissioner land registration is listed as Katongole's co-defendant.

According to the Traditional Rulers (Restitution of Assets and Properties) Act Cap 247, the Kabaka is a trustee for all land restored to Buganda kingdom.

Through Kafeero and Company Advocates, the monarch states that he gave the land to his subjects of the Nte clan who are his official blacksmiths.
 

The land on Plot 1082 Block 7 in Katwe which is under dispute. (Photo credit: Eddie Ssejjoba)

The documents further show that Katongole obtained a lease to the said land for five years effective November 2011. He allegedly misguided the Buganda Land Board (BLB) into creating for him a lease.

The Kabaka emphasises the element of fraud and illegality, stating that Katongole gave BLB an impression that the land was his property, yet he was simply the custodian by virtue of holding office as clan head.

He states that having discovered the purported irregularities, illegalities and fraud, it demanded that Katongole surrender the certificate but he declined.

The king wants court to pronounce that Katongole fraudulently entered his name on the leasehold certificate of title, and to permanently restrain Katongole and his agents from interfering with the land.

Mutebi also wants court to compel the commissioner to cancel the certificate, and to rectify the land registry book by cancelling out the purported fraudulent entry.

He is also demanding costs of the suit, plus other reliefs that court deems fit.

Court has ordered the defendants to file their defences within 15 days from the date of receipt of the summons.

In the summons signed by the court's deputy registrar Michael Otto, dated February 4, 2015, the defendants have been cautioned to heed, lest the case is heard and determined without their input.