Security orders former ambassador Nyago off contested Kigo land

The Wakiso district security committee has cleared the eviction of former ambassador Kintu Nyago on a 9-acre piece of land in Ziranumbu, Kigo in Wakiso district.

This follows an eviction order by High court on the said land. The Mulira family led by Dr Ham Mukasa Mulira, a senior Presidential Advisor on ICT, wants Nyago to leave the land for illegally encroaching on it. However, Nyago insists he is the bonafide owner of the land after buying it as a kibanja.

“No one has the authority to force me off the land apart from court and to the best of my knowledge, there is no genuine court order,” Nyago told The Observer.

Ziranumbu is one of the fastest-developing suburbs in the outskirts of Kampala and an acre there is valued at about Shs 500m. Last week, Nyago told The Observer that he had petitioned the Inspectorate of Government (IG), judiciary chief registrar and inspector of courts to investigate Dr Mulira on forgery of an eviction order. However, the district security committee watered this down after Nyago failed to meet it or challenge the authenticity of the order.

“He [Nyago] is just playing hide and seek and has failed to adduce any documentary evidence for any claim on the land. Instead, he is blackmailing every officer involved,” said a district security committee member who preferred anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue.

BACKGROUND

According to court records, Eldad Mulira 60 acres in Ziranumbu land 40 years ago and bequeathed it to his children Ham, Peter and Sarah. The contested 9 acres are part of a wider 60 acres and after a protracted 10-year court battle, High court judge Andrew Bashaija ruled on March 19, 2018 that all bibanja claimants were not genuine and ordered them to vacate.

He also ruled that any sale and transfer of the land to third parties were null and void. On May 27, court issued a 90-day notice for Nyago and remaining encroachers to leave the land. According to Ham Mulira, all encroachers have heeded and left or renegotiated their stay but Nyago has remained defiant.

“That eviction order has gone through all processes, right from the Uganda police legal department, Kampala Metropolitan Police, regional police commander, district security committee and the district police commander,” said Mulira. “All those offices crosschecked and authenticated the order but what Nyago is doing is clutching at straws,” he said.