President Museveni has intructed the responsible authorities to offer Luzira Prison land to a chinese investor who manufacturers matressess. The investor Tian Tang Group wants to construct a five-star hotel on the land.
According to a letter to minister of Internal Affairs, Gen Kahinda Otafiire, Museveni indicated he had a received a request from the Tian Tang Group to construct a hotel and conference centre. He said: “I totally support the idea,” in the latter dated July 10, 2022.
The president instructed the ministry to start looking for land to relocated the prison, the biggest in the country.
Luzira Prisons currently sits on 276.52 acres of land.
In a follow up correspondence related to this matter, Otafiire wrote to the Attorney General seeking guidance on the matter.
Otafiire writes that from what he knows, the Uganda Prisons Services has already identified a 3.5 square mile piece of land in Buikwe district, where the prison can be relocated.
But the land, Otafiire adds, has some legal issues which however can be overcome. Otafiire said a meeting of the various stakeholders will take place on March 6, 2024 in the ministry of Internal Affairs boardroom to see how to implement Museveni’s directive.
Museveni’s instruction has already generated heated debate on social media platforms with many people questioning the wisdom of the decision.
“For heaven’s sake, do we need a hotel there?” one individual wondered on X (formerly known as twitter).
Some have said this decision has the echoes of the controversial Shimoni land give-away in 2006 to an Arab investor who had pledged to construct a five start hotel ahead of the 2007 CHOGM. The investor later backed out and the land currently houses Kingdom Hall Kampala, an office/shopping complex.
According to the company profile, Tian Tang Group manufactures mattressess and steel products at their Mukono factory. Their mattress brand is called Comfoam.
There have been reports of worker’s neglect at the factory. In June last year, a turn boy, a one Kalolo, was knocked dead at the gate of the factory and the company reportedly tried to conceal the accident from the authorities.
