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The High Court in Kampala has issued a temporary injunction, effectively halting directives from the State Minister for Lands, Mr. Sam Mayanja, concerning the contested Kaazi land.
The ruling was welcomed yesterday by the Buganda Kingdom amid its ongoing efforts to reclaim and safeguard its ancestral properties.
On Friday, July 18, Justice Boniface Isaac Teko presided over the ruling, siding with the Kingdom's application to suspend Mayanja’s orders.
The Minister had controversially sought to invalidate the Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi’s title over Block 273, Plot 5 Kaazi, a prime 350-acre lakeside property, by directing the Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) to remove the Kabaka’s name from the title.
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Mayanja had argued that the land belonged to the descendants of Ssekabaka Daudi Chwa as private mailo, rather than to the Kingdom itself.
The Minister had further instructed the deregistration of the Buganda Land Board as the controlling entity and ordered the eviction of existing tenants on the property.
Read: Kabaka takes legal action against Minister Sam Mayanja over Kaazi land
Buganda Kingdom's Legal Challenge and Historical Context
The Kingdom of Buganda, through its legal team led by Attorney General Christopher Bwanika, protested Minister Mayanja’s directives.
The Kingdom's legal representatives termed Mayanja’s actions illegal, contemptuous of court, and a direct affront to historical justice.
They argued that the Kaazi land was lawfully returned to the Kabaka under the Restitution of Traditional Rulers’ Assets Act, having been seized by the 1967 Obote regime.
The restitution process, they maintained, recognised the Kabaka as a corporate entity holding the land in trust for his subjects.
Mr. Bwanika reminded the court that the Kaazi land had been leased in 1948 to the Uganda Scouts Association, subsequently confiscated during the abolition of kingdoms in 1967, and later returned under the 1993 restitution law.
He also cited a 2020 court ruling that had affirmed Kabaka Mutebi’s ownership and cancelled any fraudulent claims to the land, reinforcing the Kingdom's position.
Buganda’s Minister for Lands and Housing, Owek. David Mpanga
Court Upholds Kingdom's Plea, Minister Warns Against Interference
In his ruling on Friday, Justice Teko concurred with Buganda’s application, suspending all directives issued by Minister Mayanja pending the full determination of the substantive case.
Following the court's decision, Buganda’s Minister for Lands and Housing, Owek. David Mpanga, welcomed the outcome.
He issued a stern warning that the Kingdom would no longer tolerate unlawful interference from officials attempting to undermine its land rights, which are protected under Ugandan laws.
“These actions by Minister Mayanja are unlawful, and we shall continue to defend the Kabaka’s land through the courts,” Mpanga asserted.
This ruling provides temporary relief for the Buganda Kingdom, reaffirming its legal standing over the contested Kaazi property as the broader legal battle continues.