Govt cited in land row
FORMER Uganda Muslim Supreme Council (UMSC) Secretary General Hajji Ishak Kamoga has said the Government paid businessman Hassan Basajjabalaba sh3.5b to salvage a school plot that had been leased to him by UMSC for 20 years at sh600m.
By Cyprian Musoke and Madinah Tebajjukira
FORMER Uganda Muslim Supreme Council (UMSC) Secretary General Hajji Ishak Kamoga has said the Government paid businessman Hassan Basajjabalaba sh3.5b to salvage a school plot that had been leased to him by UMSC for 20 years at sh600m.
Appearing before the probe into the sale of UMSC land at hotel Africana yesterday, Kamoga, who was Kololo High School headteacher from 1979 to 2005, said Plot 102 William Street in Kampala had been given to the school by UMSC under Mufti Saad Luwemba.
This was after the Muslim-founded school was evicted from repossessed Asian property in Kololo.
Kamoga said when the new UMSC management under Mufti Shaban Mubajje took over, they insisted that the school pays a minimum of sh20m monthly rent.
He said when the school protested the position, UMSC evicted them and put a caveat on the plot.
“We later learnt that the property was sold to Basajjabalaba.
“I have also been informed by the current members of staff that a commissioner for Higher Education, one Agaba, told them that if they still had worries about the premises, they should forget them because it was no longer a Muslim but public school,†he said.
He said he saw a letter signed by education minister Namirembe bitamazire, advising the Government to pay Basajjabalaba sh3.5b to salvage the school.
He said when UMSC decided to evict the school, they engaged lawyers to stop the eviction, but UMSC went ahead and leased the plot to Basajjabalaba.
“When our lawyer took the letter staying the eviction to Supreme Council, they (UMSC) said ‘Kamoga wants to play on our heads. Why don’t we sell the building?’†he said.
He said UMSC put a caveat on November 22 and when their lawyer, Akampulira, went to the land office to ascertain the status of the land, he discovered that it had been leased to Basajjabalaba.
“It was done unscrupulously. The plot changed names from Bohora (original Asian owners) to UMSC on December 29, 2004. Two days later, it again changed to Basajjabalaba’s Haks Express,†he said.
He said when they received the eviction letter, he was thinking of going to court, when “Haks hired hooligans who broke all doors, threw property out, destroyed some and stole the rest.â€
He said they lost 18 bungalows in Najjanankumbi, a city suburb, due to UMSC negligence.
FORMER Uganda Muslim Supreme Council (UMSC) Secretary General Hajji Ishak Kamoga has said the Government paid businessman Hassan Basajjabalaba sh3.5b to salvage a school plot that had been leased to him by UMSC for 20 years at sh600m.
Appearing before the probe into the sale of UMSC land at hotel Africana yesterday, Kamoga, who was Kololo High School headteacher from 1979 to 2005, said Plot 102 William Street in Kampala had been given to the school by UMSC under Mufti Saad Luwemba.
This was after the Muslim-founded school was evicted from repossessed Asian property in Kololo.
Kamoga said when the new UMSC management under Mufti Shaban Mubajje took over, they insisted that the school pays a minimum of sh20m monthly rent.
He said when the school protested the position, UMSC evicted them and put a caveat on the plot.
“We later learnt that the property was sold to Basajjabalaba.
“I have also been informed by the current members of staff that a commissioner for Higher Education, one Agaba, told them that if they still had worries about the premises, they should forget them because it was no longer a Muslim but public school,†he said.
He said he saw a letter signed by education minister Namirembe bitamazire, advising the Government to pay Basajjabalaba sh3.5b to salvage the school.
He said when UMSC decided to evict the school, they engaged lawyers to stop the eviction, but UMSC went ahead and leased the plot to Basajjabalaba.
“When our lawyer took the letter staying the eviction to Supreme Council, they (UMSC) said ‘Kamoga wants to play on our heads. Why don’t we sell the building?’†he said.
He said UMSC put a caveat on November 22 and when their lawyer, Akampulira, went to the land office to ascertain the status of the land, he discovered that it had been leased to Basajjabalaba.
“It was done unscrupulously. The plot changed names from Bohora (original Asian owners) to UMSC on December 29, 2004. Two days later, it again changed to Basajjabalaba’s Haks Express,†he said.
He said when they received the eviction letter, he was thinking of going to court, when “Haks hired hooligans who broke all doors, threw property out, destroyed some and stole the rest.â€
He said they lost 18 bungalows in Najjanankumbi, a city suburb, due to UMSC negligence.