Church leaders, firm fight over Shs7.3b land deal

Archbishop Stanley Ntagali

What you need to know:

  • Attempts to confirm whether the Church will attend the last mediation were unsuccessful. Rev Canon Joram Kahenano, the Chief Executive Officer of the Church Commissioners Holding Company Ltd that manages the facilities of the church, refused to comment on the matter and instead referred us to the lawyers of Sebalu & Lule Advocates. Our repeated calls to the lawyers went unanswered by the time of filing the story.
  • The land in question is home to the Civil Aviation Authority, Ministry of Agriculture’s veterinary department, CCCC campsite and part of Entebbe International Airport.

Kampala. The mediator has today arranged “the last meeting” between Church of Uganda (CoU) leaders and the directors of a private company, Land Coin Ltd, in a land quarrel involving breach of a contract signed by Archbishop Stanley Ntagali.
The mediator has since warned that should CoU management fail to appear, he will send back the file to the registry for allocation to a judge, who will proceed to hear the commercial dispute by way of a full trial.

The Church contracted Land Coin Ltd, a consultancy firm, to help them establish the proprietorship of a 15-acre-piece of land in Entebbe occupied by the Civil Aviation Authority and the Agriculture ministry.
Although the two parties agreed to a 15 per cent commission, the Church wants to pay the company 10 per cent on the value of the land, which is Shs25b. The company rejected the offer and instructed Tumusiime, Kabega and Company Advocates to sue the Church.
According to court documents, the company did what they called, “the technical due diligence”, helped the church to secure a high-profile meeting with President Museveni and drafted “a comprehensive report”, which was used as a basis for seeking compensation from the government. The government has since agreed to pay Shs48b for the Church land at Entebbe Airport.

The CoU Board of Trustees lawyers (Sebalu and Lule Company Advocates) last Thursday met with Land Coin Limited lawyers in a move aimed at resolving a matter out of court.
The mediator is expected to meet the two parties at the Commercial Court this morning to try and resolve the disagreements. If they fail to reach the final agreement, Mr Johnson Kwesigabo, the mediator in this case, will return the file to the trial judge for hearing.
“This is the third time we have appeared before the mediator who was indisposed even after several calls without responding thus the matter being adjourned to July 26 [today],” Mr Ronald Oine, the firm’s lawyer said.

This will be the fourth meeting convened to discuss the fight over Shs7.3b but without any breakthrough. Attempts to confirm whether the Church will attend the last mediation were unsuccessful. Rev Canon Joram Kahenano, the Chief Executive Officer of the Church Commissioners Holding Company Ltd that manages the facilities of the church, refused to comment on the matter and instead referred us to the lawyers of Sebalu & Lule Advocates. Our repeated calls to the lawyers went unanswered by the time of filing the story.