Former Burundi State Attorney in the Office of the Attorney General of Burundi who was appointed the judge of the East African Court Nestor Kayobera is in trouble after some Ugandan lawyers ganged up against him over incompetence and want him to be dismissed from heading the East African Court of Justice.

In a letter dated 14^th December, 2023, lawyer Kassim Male Mabirizi asked President Salva Kiir, the chairperson of the East African Community asking him to initiate the process of removing Justice Kayobera from heading the regional court.

Mabirizi cited a number of articles in the East African Treaty which gives President Kiir powers to institute an independent tribunal to investigate the allegation of misconduct he placed on Justice Kayobera and if found guilty, be dismissed from the court.

“A Judge shall not be removed from office except by the summit-(a) for misconduct….provided that a judge shall only be removed from office under this sub paragraph if the question of his or her removal from office has been referred to an ad hoc independent tribunal appointed for this purpose by the summit and the tribunal has recommended that the judge be removed from office for misconduct,” Mabirizi’s letter stated.

He cited Article 26(1) (a) of the East African Treaty which gives powers to a citizen of the country that is a member of the treaty to move to the summit and set up an ad hoc independent tribunal to investigate Justice Kayobera with the view of having him removed upon providing all the necessary evidences which is supported by other lawyers from the regional countries once they discover Justice Kayobera’s incompetence.

Mabirizi claims that on 21^st November, 2022, Justice Kayobera single handedly as a presiding officer ordered him not to make a recusal application in chambers against one of the panel judges who had been part of the panel of justices when his case was proceeding in Ugandan Courts.

Mabirizi insisted that the said justice who justice Kayobera shielded was among the Justices of the Constitutional Court that dismissed his case because he already was biased against him and could not determine his appeal.

He noted to president Kiir through Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga the first prime minister of Uganda and also the minister for East African Affairs, Justice Kayobera expunged the letter for his recusal from his case from the court record without giving him the opportunity to defend his letter on why he was asking him to recuse himself from his case.

He accused Justice Kayobera of being a biased judge and putting the integrity of the regional court in disrepute.

He pleaded with Kiir to put his house to order as the head of the region currently.

Before being appointed the judge of the regional court, Kayobera is remembered to have sworn an affidavit in the case where he is also a lawyer representing the government of Burundi against the government of Rwanda and he lost the case and his affidavit was striked out.

President Kiir has not yet responded to Mabirizi who is supported by a number of lawyers from some member countries.

By Grapevine Reporter

President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni’s State Minister for Lands who is also the founding partner of Kampala’s famous law firm the Kampala Associated Advocates(KAA) Dr. Sam Mayanja has exposed King Ronald Muwenda Mutebi’s family wealth secrets.

Mayanja who boasts as one of the best researchers in the country revealed that when Sir Edward Walugembe Muteesa, King Ronnie’s father ran into exile in United Kingdom after the attack on his Mengo palace by the military commanded by former president Idi Amin on the orders of former Prime Minister Dr. Milton Opeto Obote, his friends found ways of looking for his wealth back home which could be sold to get money to facilitate his stay in exile.

He claims that one of Muteesa’s friends Lord Boyd led the investigations to establish his friend’s properties back home and found out that he was owned a number of private properties which included; Mutungo Hill land measuring over 1 square miles, land at Masaka where he built his Nkoni palace which was badly damaged by Obote’s troops during the 1966 Buganda crisis and was worth ten thousand pounds by 1987, Mutesa also owned land in Bamunanika where he built his Bamunanika palace measuring 2 square miles and by then was worth fifty thousand pounds.

He also owned Muzizi tea estates measuring about 12 square miles, Busengwe land on the shores of Lake Victoria where he built his Busengwe palace facing Tanzania, land in Ggomba county measuring 5 square miles, land in Singo county measuring 4 square mailos, land in Kyagwe county measuring 10 square mailos, land in Bugerere county measuring 5 square miles, land in Buwekula county measuring 2 square miles, land in Kyadondo county measuring half a square mailo.

Mayanja, a university law don insists that president Obote’s government never confiscated Mutesa’s private properties as some members of the Buganda Royal family claim.

He added that in 1968, the defunct Taifu Empya newspaper published an exclusive story revealing that Muteesa had sold his Mutungo Hill land through his sister Princess Mpologoma.

He further alleges that the next day, another defunct newspaper The People which was owned by Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) political party also published a detailed story on 21^st December 1968 detailing how Muteesa sealed a deal to sell his Mutungo land near Port Bell port while he was in exile.

The story revealed that Muteesa sold the said land to Lake View properties Limited but he didn’t temper with Official mailo land. He only sold his private properties to make ends meet in exile.

He alleges that the remaining properties were supposed to be shared among Mutesa’s 29 children according to his will which he made in exile.

Mayanja claims that Lake View Properties Directors mortgaged the said Mutungo Hill land to the bank and controversial city businessman who is also a celebrated retired medical doctor Muhammad Buwule Kasasa bought it and secured all the necessary documents.

He adds that recently, government picked interest in the land and wanted to buy it from Kasasa at Shs23bn but the administrators of Sir Edward Muteesa’s Estate protested the deal and challenged it in the court claiming that Kasasa fraudulently obtained their father’s land.

Mayanja says that he is very annoyed at Muteesa’s family members, especially King Ronnie, for making Dr. Kasasa suffer when they know that their father sold the land legally.

He reveals that currently, 95-years-old Dr. Kasasa is very sick at his Mengo home and cannot speak properly but the properties he thought he would sell to get money to treat him in his old age is being held by greedy members of the royal family.

who want some and very soon is likely going to die because doctors establish that he is suffering from a deadly cancer disease.

“Dr. Kasasa’s Personal Assistant told me on phone that they were advised by local doctors to fly him to India for further management of his sickness and they have already secured all the necessary documents to travel but they don’t have money,” the minister says.

Mayanja says that Dr. Kasasa’s Assistant pleaded with him to help the old man to at least secure the Shs6bn which Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) deposited to the judiciary bank accounts to help him.

UNRA deposited the money on the judiciary bank account after both Kasasa and Muteesa’s family claimed ownership of the land which is partly going to be used to construct the famous Kampala-Jinja Expressway.

Upon depositing the money on the judiciary bank, Court allowed UNRA to proceed with the road works as Muteesa and Dr. Kasasa settle their fight in courts of law.

“Very soon, Dr. Kasasa is going to die because at his age, when one is told that they have cancer, it is very difficult to survive. But I am warning Ronald Muwenda Mutebi and his family members that if that man dies in that situation, surely you will not survive his curse, I am telling you as a Muganda. Muteesa family members will suffer,” a tearful Mayanja told theGrapevine.

He further revealed that King Ronnie in 2015 appointed Owekitiibwa Martin Kasekende, Prince David Kintu Wasajja, Omukungu Kabanda, Omukungu Swaib Musoke, Omulangira Joel Katerega, Omutaka Pasco Kibwondwe, Dr. Eve Kasirye, Owekitiibwa Robert Waggwa Nsibirwa, Owekitiibwa Mohamood Toban, Owekitiibwa John Katende, Omukungu Levi Zimbe, Owekitiibwa David Kiwalabye Male to manage the kingdom land which is Official mailo through Buganda Land Board Limited.

However, theGrapevine established that there were changes made on the list of people appointed by Kabaka to lead the management of the Kingdom land.

We also learnt that the Lands Division of the High Court judge Flavia Nassuna has allowed Dr. Kasasa to appeal against her ruling over the release of the Shs6bn compensation from UNRA to the Court of Appeal.

But, King Ronnie’s family lawyers of K&K Advocates led by Usaama Sebuufu are already protesting the application.

By Hadija Namagembe

Owekitiibwa Israel Kazibwe Kitooke the Information Minister in King Ronald Muwenda Mutebi’s Buganda Kingdom establishment has confirmed that some of their staff have not yet been paid their monthly salaries.

He however emphasised that the Kingdom is ready and willing to fulfil its obligations of paying its worker’s salaries and pleaded with those affected to be patient because within two weeks, they will receive their money.

The affected staff are mainly those working in Kingdom ministries and those in agencies and organisations.

A senior disgruntled staff at Bulange the headquarters of Buganda Kingdom explained to theGrapevine that the Kingdom Premier Charles Peter Mayiga is responsible for their salary delays.

Another source disclosed that Mayiga is taking decisions which are becoming burdensome to the Kingdom without thinking about the people who fight to make sure the Kingdom sis financially independent.

He gave an example of the several travels Mayiga has made with a huge delegation well knowing that the Kingdom is struggling financially.

He further disclosed that Mayiga spent a lot of money when he traveled with a delegation of more than 30 people to United States of America early this year which he claims was not necessary.

However, Mayiga’s henchmen told theGrapevine that Buganda benefited a lot from Mayiga’s travels to United States of America. He even cited a number of deals he sealed.

Sources divulged that Mayiga traveled to the US to cover the gaps that individual members of the Kingdom used to get millions of shillings using the Kingdom’s name for their own personal gains.

Some staff are also accusing Mayiga of travelling to Gulu with a huge delegation using Kingdom money which would have been used to run other sectors including paying staff salaries.

“He is marketing himself to be seen as a nationalist so that in the future he can maybe stand for a political office,” one source said.

Recently, Mayiga said that he has all the necessary requirements to stand for president since it is the only political office above the position of Buganda Kingdom premier.

The aggrieved staff are also very furious over the recently concluded retreat for members of Buganda Kingdom parliament which took place at Masaka city where a lot of money was spent on orders of Mayiga who feared that his enemies could covertly use them to fight his administration.

They further accused Mayiga of using the Kingdom’s money to invest in Airtel’s Initial Public Offer where Buganda Kingdom bought a number of shares.

However, owekitiibwa Kitooke explained that Mayiga’s travels didn’t have any effect on staff’s salaries because they were prepared years back.

Kitooke added that Buganda Kingdom administration is fighting to restore Buganda’s glory that is why it is investing in income generating sectors which they are very sure will increase the Kingdom’s income to stand as financially independent.

He added that Mayiga has always wanted to work with people who are paid. That’s why his leadership stopped volunteering as it was before. He admitted that just like every organisation and institution in the country, Buganda Kingdom was also hit hard by the financial crisis that was brought about by Covid-19 lockdown.

Insiders at Bulange told theGrapevine that the financial crisis is very deep that’s why they delayed the reading of the Kingdom annual budget for months from the period it usually read.

Kingdom economists and top Kingdom leaders had to first strategise where to get the funds to feed the budget.

Recently, Mayiga has been meeting heads of the Kingdom agencies to draw plans on how to help their organisations survive the ongoing economic crisis by remaining profitable.

He even pleaded with them to take care of their staff’s wellbeing and gave them lessons on how to survive the hard economic situation.

Economically, Buganda has been surviving on funds from Buganda Land Board (BLB), Kabaka Mutebi’s agency which is responsible for managing the Kingdom land but BLB is also no longer performing well financially because some tenants on Kabaka’s land no longer want to pay rent.

State Minister for Lands Dr. Sam Mayanja and controversial city lawyer Kassim Male Mabirizi were accused of inciting tenants on Kabaka’s land not to pay to Buganda Land Board claiming that the said land is public land which Kabaka Mutebi keeps as a trustee on behalf of the people of Buganda.

President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni’s government has also delayed to pay rent arrears that the Kingdom is demanding for using Kingdom buildings which house a number of Courts and local administration units.

By Sengooba Alirabaki