Children of the late Musa Ssekeba say Kasangati Town Council Mayor Baker Kazibwe turned from protector to prospective buyer in a long-running dispute over family land in Wampeewo-Luteete, Wakiso.
The family alleges that the mayor stepped in to stop a perimeter wall from going up on the plot, then began pushing them to sell it for far less than they say it was worth.
The land is a 55-decimal kibanja in Luteete A, Kelezia Zone, Masooli Ward, along the Kampala-Gayaza Highway. The family estimates its value at Shs120m.
It is at the centre of a case at the Chief Magistrate’s Court of Kasangati. Mohammed Ssekeba and Safina Namusisi, administrators of Musa Ssekeba’s estate, are suing Sarah Mbejja and Olivia Nakalyowa, who administer the estate of the late Juma Musoke.
According to court papers, the land once belonged to the late Eseza Nabunya, mother of Juma Musoke, who is said to have owned about five acres in Luteete.
The plaintiffs say Nabunya gave Musa Ssekeba a portion measuring roughly 150 feet by 150 feet while she was alive. They say he took possession in the 1980s, built a house and rental units, and lived there until he died in 2015.
His children say they kept living on the land and collecting rent for the estate’s beneficiaries.
The family also says that when Musoke died in 1986, his remaining four acres or so were shared among his children, with Ssekeba taking part in the distribution and keeping his own share.
They argue that the other heirs received their portions, including land at Bunono in Entebbe, so the Luteete plot cannot form part of Musoke’s estate.
The family says trouble began when Mbejja, Nakalyowa and other relatives started visiting the property and urging the children to sell. The children refused, saying the land belonged to their father’s estate.
They allege that relatives then pursued criminal proceedings against Mohammed Ssekeba to get him jailed and weaken the family’s hold on the land. He was released by the court, the family says, because the allegations were not established.
The family adds that the relatives later occupied the land and took prospective buyers around it without permission.
Matters worsened when a perimeter wall began going up. The family says police arrested some of the builders after a complaint, but work resumed.
They say the Kasangati Division Police Commander and the Officer in Charge of Magere Police Post later visited the site and seemed ready to help.
The family alleges the officers then changed course and asked for a court order before they would stop the construction.
The family questions why the builders were allowed to continue without showing documents authorising the work. The police officers’ account was not available to this publication.
Turning to the Police Land Protection Unit in Makindye, which is commanded by James Kusemererwa, the family says they were referred to the State House Land Protection Unit in Wandegeya.
They allege they were then asked to pay Shs3m to be connected to that unit. They say they instead met a man known only as Isaac, who offered to connect them to Kazibwe for Shs6m.
The family says they paid, met the mayor, and he promised to help. They say he later ordered the construction stopped and the part of the wall already built demolished. That, they say, raised their hopes.
Their account then changes. The family alleges that Kazibwe visited and inspected the land and began talking to them about buying it.
They claim the mayor had learnt that a Somali businessman wanted the land for a fuel station. According to the family, Kazibwe offered Shs250m, which they turned down.
They say the businessman was ready to pay about Shs700m, made up of Shs250m for the land and Shs450m for the buildings and other developments on it. The family says it was willing to move the family burial ground as part of such a deal.
The family further alleges that the mayor wanted to buy the land and resell it to Kasangati businessman Patrick Ssekijema, popularly known as Binzaali, who is known for his curry powder business. These claims about the negotiations and the mayor’s intentions remain allegations.
After they rejected the Shs250m offer, the family says Mohammed Ssekeba became the target of a plot. They say Isaac warned them that someone planned to stab him.
They claim Mohammed was then asked for Shs6m to mobilise youths from the ghetto to protect him and his siblings from a group of attackers known as Kifeesi. When the suspected attackers arrived, the family says they met a larger group of youths and fled.
The family also says that earlier this month a group of youths attacked the property and set fire to the boys’ quarters, known as guest rooms. They say the attackers meant to burn other buildings but were confronted by the youths hired for security.
Who carried out the attacks, and whether they are linked to the land dispute, remains unverified and is a matter for police.
The family also accuses Kazibwe of using people in the community to watch them and pressure them to sell.
They name Saul Ssemakula, whom they describe as a prominent figure in local land deals and a “land blocker”. They say he is also chairperson of the neighbourhood village in Wampeewo.
The family says the Kelezia Zone, Masooli Ward chairperson, Nasanayiri Kyeyune, refused to sign sale documents without the involvement and consent of Musa Ssekeba’s children.
They allege the aunts tried to pressure the local leader into endorsing the sale, including through the mayor’s alleged involvement.
They also question how their aunts obtained Letters of Administration for Juma Musoke’s estate.
They claim the documents were obtained using information from Bunono village in Entebbe and were then used to push what they call a fraudulent sale. They allege the aunts are now relying on Diamond Advocates to carry out the deal.
The family says they also asked the Deputy Resident District Commissioner (RDC) of Kasangati, Juma Kigongo, to step in. They accuse him of leaving their files unattended despite repeated attempts to get help.
They say the matter drew attention only after they learnt the complaints had been referred to the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI).
They have also written to the Police Land Protection Unit in Makindye and the Professional Standards Unit, complaining about the Kasangati police commander and the Officer in Charge of Magere Police Post.
The siblings have hired KOB Advocates & Solicitors.
In the civil suit, they want the court to declare that the 55-decimal plot belongs to Musa Ssekeba’s estate and not to Juma Musoke’s.
They also seek a permanent injunction stopping the defendants, their agents and anyone claiming through them from selling, transferring, disposing of or developing the land, plus general damages, interest and costs.
They cite a High Court decision, which they say recognised their father’s ownership of the land. They also refer to a criminal case, which they say was dismissed for lack of evidence that the land belonged to Musoke’s estate.
We were unable to get Kazibwe for his side of the story.
