Kampala, Uganda: The High Court in Kampala has issued a temporary injunction halting directives by State Minister for Lands, Mr Sam Mayanja, which sought to cancel the Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi’s title over the contested Kaazi land, a development that hands the Buganda Kingdom yet another legal victory in its long-running fight to reclaim and protect its ancestral land.
The court presided over by Justice Boniface Isaac Teko on Friday, July 18, ruled in favour of the Kingdom’s plea to suspend Mayanja’s orders, which had controversially sought to invalidate the Kabaka’s title over Block 273, Plot 5 Kaazi, a prime 350-acre lakeside property.
Mayanja had directed the Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) to remove the Kabaka’s name from the title, arguing the land belonged to the descendants of Ssekabaka Daudi Chwa as private mailo, and not to the Kingdom.
The Minister further instructed the deregistration of Buganda Land Board as the controlling entity and ordered the eviction of sitting tenants.
Undeterred by the Minister’s directive, the Kingdom of Buganda, through its legal team led by Attorney General Christopher Bwanika, protested, terming Mayanja’s move as illegal, contemptuous of court, and a blatant affront to historical justice arguing that the land was lawfully returned under the Restitution of Traditional Rulers’ Assets Act, having been seized by the 1967 Obote regime and later restituted through legal processes that recognised the Kabaka as a corporate entity holding trust for his subjects.
Mr Bwanika reminded court that the Kaazi land had been leased in 1948 to the Uganda Scouts Association, confiscated during the abolition of Kingdoms in 1967, and later returned under the 1993 restitution law. A 2020 court ruling had affirmed Kabaka Mutebi’s ownership, cancelling any fraudulent claims to the land.
While delivering the landmark ruling on Friday, Justice Teko agreed with Buganda’s application and suspended all directives by Mayanja pending full determination of the case.
Speaking after the ruling, Buganda’s Lands and Housing Minister, Owek David Mpanga, welcomed the court decision, warning that the Kingdom will no longer tolerate illegal interference by officials seeking to undermine its land rights under Uganda’s laws. “These actions by Minister Mayanja are unlawful, and we shall continue to defend the Kabaka’s land through the courts,” Mpanga said.
Background to the Kaazi Dispute
The contested land, Kaazi Camping Grounds in Wakiso, was registered in 1923 under Ssekabaka Daudi Chwa II as Kabaka of Buganda. Leased to Uganda Scouts in 1948, it was seized in 1967 before being restored to Buganda in 1993. The land was re-titled to the Kabaka in 2000, with subsequent court battles quashing claims by private individuals, including Prince Kalemeera, who lost a suit over the same in 2020.
Mayanja’s directives triggered sharp backlash from Mengo, which views the minister’s actions as part of a wider plot to erode Buganda’s legal authority over its assets. Buganda Land Board has since announced plans to sue Mayanja personally for abuse of office and defamation.
Where Matters Stand Now: The High Court’s stay means Buganda Land Board remains the registered entity over the land until court fully hears the merits of the case.
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