Widow’s 30-year battle for justice amid land wrangles and loss

A sixty-year-old widow is appealing to the relevant government agencies to come to her aid and assist her recover property that was entrusted to her as an administrator. The property was allegedly taken by her late husband’s relatives, who she says connived with some of her former workers.

I found Faith Mbabazi in a single room in Matugga, Wakiso district. She told me that the single room was offered to her by a Good Samaritan who rescued her from a destitute life after her late husband’s relatives “kicked” her out of the family property.

She told New Vision that despite several court rulings in her favour, she cannot access her prime kibanja land. On the land, she added, are two farms at Nakakabala and Kalyabutala in Kiboga district.

It is on this land that she used to derive a living.

However, she alleges that John Muhigira, her late husband’s relative, evicted her. She added that even when she sued over trespass, court judgements have fallen on deaf ears.

Mbabazi added that in her quest for the land, she has lost a husband and 13 children.

This situation, she added, has complicated her plight as the land conflict continues to swallow her kin and kith.

“I am appealing to President Yoweri Museveni, Brig. Gen. Henry Isoke, the head of State House Anti-Corruption Unit [SHACU], lands state minister Sam Mayanja and any other Good Samaritans to come to my rescue and help me out of the situation I am in,” she said.

“I lost all my 13 children as a result of the conflict associated with the same land. Some were either hacked or strangled. I also lost my husband under very mysterious circumstances. He too was strangled,” Mbabazi told New Vision.

Genesis

Narrating her ordeal, Mbabazi said around 1994, in the wake of the Rwanda genocide, her husband James Sungura welcomed his relatives from Rwanda to stay with them in Mbuya, where he served as a National Resistance Army (NRA) now Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF).

“Since our home was small, we offered them shelter at my parents’ farm in Kiboga, where there was space,” she added.

Mbabazi said at the time, they had 13 children.

“Shortly after their stay, I started losing my children under very strange circumstances. Four of them were poisoned, five strangled while the rest died in their sleep,” she said.

Mbabazi, who is drenched in deep sorrow, added that her children started to die mysteriously when the land wrangles started.

Muhigira declined to speak on the matter. New Vision was, however, able to obtain a series of documents indicating several attempts by the Kiboga district leadership to try and intervene in land dispute.

In March 2011, Patrick Nsubuga, the senior Kiboga district probation officer, wrote to the LC1 chairperson of Kalyabutala asking him to appear for a meeting over the disputed property.

This was after Muhigira decided to take over the property through what Mbabazi said was by use of force and money.

“You are summoned to appear in my office on Monday, March 28, 2011. It has been reported that Muhigira was left with over 12 head of cattle by the late Pasikaziyo Kaneza, who was the father of Mbabazi. Muhigira is ordered to appear with the Will of the deceased and failure to reach a compromise, Muhigira shall be charged with intermeddling with the properties of the orphans,” Nsubuga said.

Mbabazi, however, said Muhigira neither appeared for the said meeting nor did he present any documents to show how he gained ownership of the disputed property that he now said belonged to him.

A single room in Matugga, Wakiso district where sixty-year-old widow, Faith Mbabazi, is residing.

However, New Vision has learnt that even after this failed meeting, there were several other meetings that were held aimed at resolving the matter.

One such meeting was held in November 2012. On Tuesday, November 13, 2012, Deo Sava Kasumba, writing on behalf of the Kiboga chief administrative officer to the Administrator General, indicated that they had held a family meeting to which Muhigira admitted he was in possession of Mbabazi’s family property including cows and land.

“This is to confirm that we held a meeting that was attended by all the affected parties and it was confirmed that Muhigira trespassed and is also in possession of cows that belonged to the late parents of Mbabazi,” Kasumba said.

On May 17, 2013, Mbabazi applied for letters of administration to run and manage the estate of Pasikaziyo Kaneza and these were granted to her on June 2013.

When Muhigira declined to hand over the land and properties, on March 12, 2015, Mbabazi filed a civil suit number 040 of 2015 against Muhigira.

In her suit, Mbabazi wanted court to declare that she is the rightful administrator of her father Pasikaziya estate; an order for recovery of cattle and goats that her family owned, among other orders.

She alleged in her affidavits that on June 18, 2013, she was appointed by court as the administrator of the estate of the late Pasikaziya, who owned a kibanja in Kiboga together with 96 head of cattle and 72 goats, which were part of the properties to be administered by her.”

“Surprisingly after the grant, the defendants, who fought hard to object to the grant, shared the cows of the deceased among themselves and Muhigira took 48 head of cattle,” she added.

Mbabazi added that the principal beneficiaries of the properties were seven namely Bosco Kaizuka, John Musonera, George Kairanga, Deborah Mukamukara, Kevin Murerwa and herself, among others.

She added: “I used all possible ways to take care of the minor’s interest, as well as distribute the estate as the law established, but Muhigira and Kahama attempted to harm her and she reported the matter to Kiboga Police and the file was later sent to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations in Kibuli. Muhigira and Kahama were charged with theft.”

Mbabazi said she applied all possible avenues to receive what was assigned to her by court to administer and distribute among the principal beneficiaries, but Muhigira opposed it.

Judgement

On March 15, 2017, the late Elizabeth Ibanda Nahamya, in the presence of Mbabazi and Muhigira, ruled in Mbabazi’s favour.

Nahamya said: “An order for the recovery of the suit kibanja located in Watuba, Kiboga district; a declaration that Mbabazi is the rightful administrator of the estate of Pasikale; an order for the recovery of 48 head of cattle and 34 goats from Muhigira; an order for the recovery of 38 head of cattle from Kahama is hereby granted.”

The judge also ordered that a guardianship order of Sam Kasigwa and Flora Kaitesi, the children of the plaintiff’s late brother who were forcefully taken away by Kahama; an order for the exhumation of Mbabazi’s mother’s remains from Muhigira’s home and be reburied in her rightful kibanja at Muhigira’s own expense.

The judge also awarded Mbabazi general damages of sh40m plus a 12% interest of the court rate from the date of the judgement until payment was fully made.

Mbabazi said despite the above ruling, the two defendants acted with impunity and declined to pay her nor release the animals.

“They also refused to exhume my mother’s body for a proper burial,” she said.

Mbabazi later filed a civil suit against Muhigira, Hajilimana Musonero (another relative of her husband) in the Family Division of the High Court under file number 245 of 2018.

On September 5, 2018, the High Court Family Division issued a decree on the case filed by Mbabazi against Muhigira and Musenero.

Justice Godfery Namundi ruled that: “Mbabazi was the rightful administrator of the estate of Pasikale Nyamukeba, her father and Pasikaziya Kaneza, her late mother.

“The plaintiff [Mbabazi] is the beneficiary of two farms at Nakakabala and Kalyabutala in Kiboga West and Ndabirebe the beneficiary of the farm, Bulemezi and Nyakihima, the beneficiary of the land at Kasangati,” Namundi said.

He added that the registrar of titles is directed to register the plaintiffs’ names as owner of the two farms at Kalyabutala and Nakakabala in Kiboga West.

“A permanent injunction doth issue restraining the defendants, their agents, employees, assignees from and further interference and or trespassing on the estate of Nyamukeba and Kaneza’s estates,” the Judge ruled.

Follow-up fails

On September 10, 2018, Mbabazi wrote to court under reference to her case; civil suit number 245 of 2018, Faith Mbabazi versus Muhigira and two others to the deputy registrar, High Court in the Family Division, Kampala.

“I refer to the above captioned matter in which we are the judgement creditor/plaintiff.

The defendants never filed a defence but opted to have the matter settled out of court and a decree was extracted.

Ever since we consented, the defendants have not handed over all the properties of the late Pasikale and they are transporting some of the cows from Bulemezi farm even before handing over those that I am entitled to as directed by court,” Mbabazi said.

She, however, said she got no response from court.

Cry for justice

Mbabazi said she has been left in a very awkward position.

“I am at the mercy of Good Samaritans and have been abandoned by the same people who impoverished me after they grabbed our properties. I am appealing to Good Samaritans to come to my aid. I need justice,” she said.

Hope Nantongo, a neighbour at Matugga, who knows Mbabazi, said she was abandoned in a single room by some people who were helping her.

“She is getting blind. Sometimes she even lacks basic things like water. She is frail and needs some sense of security which includes relatives around her. We appeal to the Government to intervene and at least let her get justice,” Nantongo said.