The mighty Grapevine can exclusively report that Owekitiibwa Joyce Nabbosa Ssebugwawo the junior Minister in Charge of Technology in the Ministry of Information Communication, Information and National guidance has started the process of helping Buganda Kingdom clans leaders to meet President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni over the contestation surrounding the multibillion land he bought for them in 2023.
The development comes after officials in the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development declined to start on the process of transferring the Clan leaders land title from the names of Dr. John Kakembo who sold it to their association company of Abataka trust.
One of the clan heads claims that every time they tried to transfer their land title, officials in the Ministry of Lands referred them to their senior minister Judith Nabakooba.
He says that when they met Nabakooba, she openly told them that Charles Peter Mayiga the Buganda Kingdom premier is the only person who can give the ministry the green light to kick off the process of transferring their land into the names of the company of their choice.
“We tried to explain to the minister that we are an independent organ in the kingdom and can handle our matter without getting permission from Mayiga or any other person. She asked for a file where she kept a letter and she told us that Mayiga in writing warned her to be very careful when dealing with our issue. She advised us to go back to Mayiga and sort out our issues before going back to her office,” he said.
When contacted for a comment, Owekitiibwa Israel Kitooke Kazibwe the Kingdom information and mobilization minister confirmed the development and advised the aggrieved clan heads to work with Owekitiibwa Christopher Bwanika the Kingdom Attorney General to sort out their issues legally.
“What I can tell you, here in Buganda Kingdom, we don’t have independent organs now. All of us are working under King Ronald Muwenda Mutebi who is a corporation sole. By the way, the premier is just helping those people (clan heads) to save their land from fraudsters who can use the land laws to grab it from them,” Kitooke said.
He revealed that Mayiga never dragged himself into their issues. He explained that it was the clan heads themselves who went into his office seeking advice on how to deal with the registration of their land and he assigned Bwanika to help them.
He added that the Mengo administration cannot allow any person or organisation to register any entity which is familiar or related to Buganda Kingdom without the knowledge and authorization of the Kingdom leadership.
“They wanted to register Abataka Trust Company which is carrying a name relating to Buganda. So this meant that they had to first get authorization from the Kingdom administration, and what I can assure them is that no one is interested in grabbing their land and whatever is being done is in good faith and for their benefit,” Kitooke said.
However, the clan heads admitted that without their authority as Buganda Kingdom clan heads council, their executive committee led by Omuttaka Ssalongo Augustine Kizito Mutumba their speaker took all the documents prepared by their lawyers to re-register their Abataka trust company to Mayiga but since then, they have not yet reported back to them. When they ask for the progress of the process, lawyers they become elusive.
theGrapevine has established that the Kingdom clan heads council is sharply divided with a section of clan heads led by Ffumbe clan head Yusuf Mbirozankya bitter over Mayiga’s involvement in their land issues.
The clan heads have also disagreed on the proposal by Mutumba’s team to sell the said land and instead use the funds to buy another piece of land in another place explaining that it is the only thing that can resolve their misunderstanding between their council and the Mayiga led administration.
“They told us that they cannot step on land which Museveni purchased for us, because we didn’t get permission from Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi or Mayiga. We know they have issues with President Museveni but for us he is our savior and we will not betray him by following their ill intentions,” a clan head said.
theGrapevine also established that Mbirozankya’s team and their lawyers have also failed to re-register their Abattaka trust company on grounds that Buganda Kingdom Attorney General Bwanika wrote to Uganda Registration Service Bureau (URSB) asking them not to re-register the company without the authorisation of Buganda Kingdom or their original directors who include: Allan Waligo Nakirembeka, Suleiman Mayige Kinnalwa, Emmanuel Kafumu Ddamulira Sebitabo, Deus Maweesano Kyeyune Kukeera and David Mayanja Wooya, who are all clan heads.
The company was deregistered in 2023 for failing to implement the requirement by URSB showing that it is still in operation.
In 2023, Mayiga declared before Buganda Kingdom parliament that he will not allow any person to divide Buganda and a resolution was passed by the parliament condemning the clan heads meeting wih Museveni without the authorization of Kabaka Mutebi or Mayiga.
However, the negotiations led by city lawyer and also Kingdom lands Minister David Mpanga Kisitu have been going on to solve the misunderstanding between Mayiga and a section of clan heads.
The issue of Mayiga’s administration taking control of registration of their land has divided clan heads with some claiming that Mayiga wants their land to be put under Buganda Land Board, the kingdom agency which is responsible for managing all Kingdom land.
They insist that they cannot allow Buganda Land Board to manage their land, given that it is the very agency that illegally sold their clan headquarters and other important Kingdom culture sites.
“The reason why we asked President Museveni not to give us money but to directly pay the owner of the land was because we feared that the funds may be mismanaged.
Kabaka gave us the land at Mengo near the official home of the Kingdom premier but Buganda Land Board frustrated us we failed to get it until President Museveni saved us and bought for us another piece of land. I assure Mutumba that we are going to physically fight to save our land,” one clan head vowed.
Museveni paid over Shs10bn and promised to help the clan heads to develop their land.
Another clan head told theGrapevine that they had started on the process of looking for investors to help them to develop their land but they all ask them to first show them the certificate of the land title registered into their names.
He confirmed to us that the land title is safe and in custody of one of the minister’s in President Museveni’s government who has tight security.
By Sengooba Alirabaki
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