Salim Saleh denies ownership of Busabala wetland hotel, says real owners to be named soon

Gen Caleb Akandwanaho, better known as Salim Saleh, has denied claims circulating on social media that he owns a hotel in Busabala whose construction allegedly led to the demolition of homes in a recent wetland restoration exercise.

The allegations emerged in a TikTok video in which a man claimed that a hotel belonging to Gen Saleh and President Museveni's daughter, Natasha Karugire, was the reason dozens of houses were demolished in Busabala to create an access road.

In the video, the man alleged: "This is Gen Salim Saleh's hotel that got over 600 houses razed down. It belongs to Salim Saleh and President Museveni's daughter Natasha. They destroyed the homes to create a road to the hotel."

Responding to the claims, Gen Saleh dismissed the allegations and denied owning any hotel in a wetland area.

"I have seen a citizen on TikTok saying I own a hotel in Kampala and in a wetland. He alleges that I own the hotel with Natasha. He then likes to link this property to the whole race. This is private property. What type of freedom is this?" Saleh wrote.

He suggested that the true ownership of the property would soon be revealed.

"Very soon we shall know who owns what in the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area... Stay tuned," he added.

The claims surfaced amid public debate over a recent National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) operation in Busabala, Wakiso District, where authorities demolished more than 100 structures during a wetland restoration exercise in the Kaliddubi Wetland. 

The operation, which took place between June 2 and June 4, left hundreds of residents displaced. NEMA said the exercise was intended to restore approximately 10.3 hectares of protected wetland that had been encroached upon.

Some affected residents accused NEMA of carrying out surprise evictions and questioned why certain developments appeared untouched. Others demanded compensation for their losses.

NEMA has maintained that the crackdown forms part of a broader campaign to protect wetlands in Kampala and surrounding areas. The environmental regulator has argued that it exhausted earlier interventions, including warnings and community engagement, before resorting to enforcement measures.