Entebbe land case stalls over absence of state attorney, witness
When the matter came up before Chief Magistrate Stella Maris Amabilis, the court was informed that both the state attorney and the prosecution witness were not present.
Barigye (Pictured), who deals in general supplies, accuses Magom of criminal trespass and threatening violence.
WAKISO - The hearing of a case in which businesswoman Peace Barigye accuses Yunus Magom of trespassing on a disputed land in Entebbe failed to proceed due to the absence of the state attorney and a witness.
The contested land (Plot 31A), valued at over sh500m, is situated at Uringi Crescent, Entebbe, in Busiro County, Wakiso district.
When the matter came up before Chief Magistrate Stella Maris Amabilis, the court was informed that both the state attorney and the prosecution witness were not present.
This prompted the magistrate to adjourn the case to February 18, 2026.
Barigye, who deals in general supplies, accuses Magom of criminal trespass and threatening violence. Magom denies the charges.
The case has been in court for three years.
High Court
The proprietor of Entebbe Junior School has also since petitioned the Entebbe High Court, accusing Barigye of encroaching on the same land.
Rosemary Kiiza Omamteker filed a suit against Barigye at the Entebbe High Court, seeking a permanent injunction restraining Barigye and her agents from trespassing on the land.
According to court documents, Omamteker is the registered proprietor and lawful owner of the land, having possessed it since 2019.
The school proprietor contends that in 2021, Barigye began constructing a residential house on the adjacent Plot 31B, at which point she realised that the structure had encroached onto her land.
“I made several attempts to engage Barigye to halt the encroachment or trespass on my land, but she was hostile and confrontational,” Omamteker states in her pleadings.
The documents indicate that Omamteker, through her former lawyers of Nshemerirwe, Arigye and Company Advocates, wrote to the Entebbe Municipal Council town clerk seeking intervention to protect the land boundaries.
However, the town clerk reportedly advised Barigye to stop the encroachment and comply with the findings of a survey report, but she allegedly ignored the directive.
Omamteker further claims that although she and Barigye share an access road, the businesswoman unlawfully constructed a gate, blocking her access to the land.
Court documents indicate that an independent survey was commissioned after Barigye denied encroaching on Omamteker’s land.
On October 31, 2024, through her lawyers from Roots Advocates, Omamteker wrote to the Commissioner of Surveys and Mapping at the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, requesting a joint boundary opening for Plots 31A and 31B along Uringi Crescent Road.
Court documents show that on November 8, 2024, the ministry conducted a boundary opening and found that Barigye had encroached on Omamteker’s land by 0.028 hectares (approximately 0.0771 acres).
Omamteker contends that Barigye is aware that it is her [Omamteke’s] land, but she has continued to trespass by constructing on it, planting flowers and placing boundary marks, an act she says has caused her mental anguish and financial loss.