Uganda Gov’t ordered to pay sh36m over illegal detention, failure to prosecute
The court observed that police officers at Naggalama Police Station failed to prosecute suspects whom Mubiru had accused of trespassing on his three-acre kibanja located in Wanjeyo-Kalagala Kito village, Mukono district and destroying his sugarcane plantation, despite the DPP authorising criminal charges.
“Mubiru has proved to the required standard the violation of his right to liberty,” the judge ruled.
MUKONO - Court has ordered the Government to pay sh36m to two Mukono district residents, ruling that police unlawfully detained one of them and failed to prosecute suspects despite charges having been sanctioned by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
In a judgement dated June 8, this year, Justice Stephen Mubiru of Mukono High Court awarded sh30m to businessman Emmanuel Mubiru and sh5m to Timothy Kiranda, noting that their rights had been violated by various government officials and law enforcement officers.
The court observed that police officers at Naggalama Police Station failed to prosecute suspects whom Mubiru had accused of trespassing on his three-acre kibanja located in Wanjeyo-Kalagala Kito village, Mukono district and destroying his sugarcane plantation, despite the DPP authorising criminal charges.
The judge ruled that police unlawfully failed to commence prosecution of suspects despite the DPP sanctioning charges, denying Mubiru equal protection and equality before the law as guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.
Court records indicate that while Mubiru was on remand at Kauga Government Prison on trumped-up charges, the grandchildren of a one Florence Nantumbwe, who sold the land to him (Mubiru), acting with the support of government agents, took possession of his kibanja and subdivided it into plots for sale.
The judge also ordered State House Anti-Corruption Unit operative Valentine Okoth and Wanjeyo-Kalagala Kito Village LC1 chairperson George William Ssembatya to each pay Mubiru sh25m in damages for physically assaulting him during a disputed land recovery operation.
“Okoth and Ssembatya subjected Mubiru to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment contrary to Article 24 of the Constitution through physical assault,” he ruled.
The judge also ruled that Mukono Resident District Commissioner Hajjat Fatuma Nabitaka Ndisaba violated Mubiru’s right to fair and just administrative treatment under Article 42 of the Constitution. As a result, Government was ordered to pay Mubiru sh1m in damages.
“Mubiru has proved to the required standard the violation of his right to liberty,” the judge ruled.
He said the actions of Naggalama District Police Commander Edna Nyiraneza, Criminal Investigations Directorate officer Phoebe Atamba and Kimenyedde Police Post investigations officer Richard Wandeya led to Kiranda’s unlawful detention.
“Prolonged police detention without court appearance constitutes a violation of the right to personal liberty, warranting compensation, and so does the infringement of the right to just and fair treatment in administrative decisions,” Justice Mubiru noted.
Background
According to court documents, Mubiru purchased the kibanja from Nantumbwe and her son, Solomon Mbogo, in transactions conducted between 2017 and 2019.
He subsequently established a sugarcane plantation on the land, which he valued at sh225m.
The dispute intensified in 2023 after Nantumbwe’s grandchildren allegedly destroyed the plantation, prompting Mubiru to file a civil suit seeking compensation.
Court records show that the grandchildren later got land brokers and RDC Ndisaba, in efforts to reclaim the land.
On July 24, 2025, Ndisaba reportedly ordered Mubiru to stop accessing the kibanja. Although he reported several incidents of trespass, Mubiru maintained that police instead facilitated continued encroachment on the land and destruction of his crops.