Naguru hospital land sold for sh1b

Mar 24, 2009

THE committee on local government accounts yesterday heard that land, which Kampala City Council (KCC) leased to Naguru Hospital, was sold to a private developer.

By Madinah Tebajjukira

THE committee on local government accounts yesterday heard that land, which Kampala City Council (KCC) leased to Naguru Hospital, was sold to a private developer.

In August 2001, KCC leased 1.22 hectares of land on Plot 2 on Estate Road and Plot 50 on Lugogo Bypass to the hospital for a new structure, yet to be built.

The land was previously meant for the Nakawa housing estate project.
The Auditor General’s report on KCC land and revenue for the financial years 2000 to 2007 said part of the land that was leased for about sh80m had since been sold to Janet Kobusingye at sh1b under unclear circumstances.

“The interests of the land have been sold to Kobusingye and to date no hospital is visible on this site,” the report said.

Appearing before the committee chaired by Abdu Katuntu (Bugweri), KCC town clerk Ruth Kijjambu and city advocates JB Karugonjjo neither identified the directors of the hospital nor gave details about Kobusingye.

“I request that we are given time to look into records to establish the directors and more on Kobusingye,” Kijjambu said.
In the report, the Auditor General also discovered that KCC leased land to non-existent companies.

“This is an inside job. They get to know what is happening in KCC, form companies and then allocate land to themselves,” Katuntu said.

In the report which is under scrutiny, KCC is said to have allocated land to Naguru Hospital a year before its registration.

The land was leased to the hospital in August 2001, yet it was registered in May 2002.

The Auditor General also questioned the methods used to sub-lease the land and recommended that KCC repossesses the land immediately.

The committee also gave Kijjambu a three-day ultimatum to recover sh48m from former KCC football club chairman Hasib Takuba.

The money accrued from rent of plots 1-41 and 2-41 on 6th Street by Haks Express, a company owned by city businessman Hassan Basajjabalaba.

Takuba was the chairman of the club, which leased the plots to Haks.
Former assistant town clerk, William Tumwine, was also quizzed about alleged abuse of office.

According to Kijjambu, Tumwine illegally sanctioned the transfer of land from Basajjabalaba to Francis Kakumba.
Tumwine was interdicted over authorising payments to ghost companies.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});