The High Court has dismissed an application by city dentist Dr Lule Ntwatwa seeking to halt criminal proceedings against him over the disputed ownership of land in Katanga in Wandegeya.
Justice Paul Gadenya Wolimbwa ruled that the application had no merit because the complaints raised were largely procedural issues that should be addressed through the normal court process.
“I recognize that a number of legitimate concerns were raised in this application. These were, however, largely interlocutory matters. They are amenable to appeal, not revision,” Wolimbwa ruled.
Justice Gadenya also rejected a request by Dr Ntwatwa and his co-accused, Stuart Kateregga, to return the case to the Law Development Centre Magistrate’s Court, saying the Buganda Road Chief Magistrate’s Court lawfully reallocated the file.
He said that if the accused believed the trial magistrate was biased, they should first apply for her recusal before seeking intervention from a higher court.
The judge further ruled that the applicants had failed to prove they would not receive a fair trial.
“I am not satisfied that a stay is necessary to protect the integrity of the justice system. The pendency of related civil proceedings does not bar the criminal trial,” Justice Gadenya said.
Dr Ntwatwa and Kateregga had asked the High Court to revise the proceedings and stop the trial, arguing that the prosecution amounted to an abuse of court process.
The two are jointly charged with local council leader Wasswa Ntoogo on charges of conspiracy to defraud, forgery and uttering false documents.
Following the High Court ruling, trial magistrate Winnie Nankya Jatiko directed Dr Ntwatwa to present his final defence witness on August 4, 2026, after which the defence case is expected to close.
According to the prosecution, Dr Ntwatwa, Kateregga, Ntoogo and others still at large falsely informed police in 2019 that they were the rightful owners of a kibanja opposite the Government Analytical Laboratory at Mulago Roundabout.
Prosecutors say the false claim caused police to spend time and resources investigating the matter.
The accused are also alleged to have conspired to defraud Walugembe of the land by falsely claiming they bought it from Bulasio Buyisi in the early 1990s. They further face accusations of presenting forged busuulu, or ground rent, receipts to police in September 2020 to support their ownership claim.
The land has been the subject of a long-running dispute. In 2015, the High Court ruled that four families occupying the Katanga Valley land and their licensees were bona fide occupants whose rights were protected under Uganda’s land laws.
