Col Nakalema detains lawyer, threatens to arrest policemen

Mr Tony Ngobi, a partner with Ms Ngobi & Co. Advocates, a law firm, spent the night of Monday, November 4, in the cells of the Central Police Station (CPS) in Kampala.

That Tuesday morning, policemen told him he was free to go home. He said he would not leave the station until they told him why he had been detained. He demanded to be charged and presented before a court of law or released on police bond.

A policeman privy to the case told Sunday Monitor that they pleaded with Mr Ngobi ‘not to make it any harder’ and he eventually accepted to leave the station, to their relief.

The lawyer had been held overnight on the orders of Lt Col Edith Nakalema, the head of the State House Anti-Corruption Unit. The powerful presidential appointee had on that Monday convened a meeting at the President’s Office in Kampala to listen to a complaint concerning land in Ssisa, Wakiso District.

The land in question is comprised in Block 409, Ssisa-Kagulu, measuring about four square miles. The descendants of Kagulu Tebuchwereka, who was Kabaka of Buganda between 1734 and 1736, claim the land as theirs.

Kagulu had his palace and shrine in the area, which he gave his name, hence Ssisa-Kagulu, his relatives and Buganda Kingdom claim.

Kagulu’s reign did not end well, and when he was deposed, members of his lineage were hunted down and most of them killed.

Buganda Kingdom would, however, confirm much later that some of Kagulu’s descendants had escaped, and recognised five people as true descendants of the former king.

The five are Ssematimba Kyobe, Ssenyimba Kayima, Kiwanga Sseziga, Kattaba Wamala and Kalaki Ngomazawambwa. These are the ones who engaged Mr Ngobi to help them reclaim what they call their land.

Mother of wars
The land, however, is claimed by hundreds of people. Much of it is still unutilised and overlooks Lake Victoria, presenting a tempting proposition.

It remained unclaimed for many decades, and profiteers moved in. Real estate agencies acquired chunks of it and parcelled it out in plots to different buyers.

To some, the land was positioned as Kabaka’s land, and some paid busuulu (land rent) to Buganda Land Board for some years until the body advised them that the land does not belong to the kingdom but it is the private estate of Kagulu.

A number of other occupants of the contested land have titles showing conclusive ownership of the chunks they occupy, issued by the government.

During Col Nakalema’s meeting and elsewhere, Mr Ngobi claimed those who have titles have their documents showing that they are located on Block 410, which is a swamp, or Block 408, which belongs to an Indian, but are actually physically located on Kagulu’s land, which is Block 409.

Mr Ngobi says this is a result of fraud carried out at the Lands office in Wakiso District, where he says the titles were issued from. He told the meeting, and has submitted documents to the Lands office at the ministry of Lands, that show that while the ‘forgery’ was being carried out at the Lands office in Wakiso, the people involved did not tamper with cadastral plans at the Institute of Geological Survey and Mapping in Entebbe.

In Entebbe, he says, all the documents are intact and show the contested land belongs to Kagulu.
The Lands office is still investigating the matter and has not reached a conclusion, Col Nakalema’s meeting was told.

Inside the meeting
Col Nakalema’s meeting had Mr Robert Opio, the Commissioner for Lands, Kampala Metropolitan Police (KMP) Commander Moses Kafeero, Mr Onesmus Mwesige, the regional CID officer for Entebbe, over a dozen complainants, and among others.

Ms Nakalema said she had not invited the descendants of Kagulu for the meeting, but that those who had come in to attend it.

Complaints against Kagulu’s descendants came in flying. Mr Joseph Balikuddembe-Mutebi, the former MP for Busiro South, said he was born in the area but had never seen any of Kagulu’s descendants claim the land.

He trashed their claim, saying a look at the titles shows that “they are not located anywhere.” He had a lot of support in the room.

Mr Ngobi, representing the Kagulu family, kept trying to interject.

He rose and said, addressing Col Nakalema: “When someone comes to your office, they must come with clean hands. Their land is located on Block 410 and not 409…”

Col Nakalema interjected: “I will hear that, Sir. I will hear that from the ministry of Lands.”
Mr Ngobi referred Col Nakalema to a set of documents he said she should read. Col Nakalema answered: “My job is not to read those documents (it is for those in lands). You know we are deployed differently.”

She asked the lawyer to resume his seat, and charged Mr Mwesige, the regional CID officer Entebbe area, to explain what he had done regarding the complaints he had received.

The complainants had told Col Nakalema that the descendants of Kagulu had trespassed on their land and roughed up some of them, and that when they reported to the police, nothing was done about the matter.

Mr Mwesige said he had not seen some of the people in the meeting, including some of those who claimed to be local leaders. He said he had invited them for a meeting on the matter but they had not turned up.

This left Col Nakalema angry. She retorted: “I want to warn you, you cannot come here to fool me. You cannot tell me that these leaders, LC1, LC2, you don’t know them. You can’t come here to challenge me in your line of authority. You will end up in prison yourself.” The policeman shut up.

Lawyer explains
The lawyer, Mr Ngobi, would have another chance, but it would not be before he was accused by Col Nakalema of trying to explain things on behalf of the police.

Mr Ngobi had tried to interject as Ms Nakalema quizzed Mr Mwesige why had not opened a file and acted on the complaints that those who are battling against the Kagulu family had made to his office.

Mr Ngobi had said that the complainants had been invited for meetings but did not turn up.

The lawyer said the descendants of Kagulu, who instructed him in the matter, gave him a copy of Letters of Administration of Kagulu’s estate dated October 31, 2018, and that he was instructed to open boundaries for the land in question, investigate fraudulent transfers on the land and convene stakeholders’ meeting to discuss the land.

As Mr Ngobi pursued his clients’ case, asserting their claim and alleging fraud on the part of those who transferred the land, Col Nakalema asked him how he knew what he knew.
Mr Ngobi responded: “Investigations were done.”

Col Nakalema quipped: “By who? … I am not going to hear from you again.”

By the time the meeting was done, Col Nakalema had ordered Mr Kafeero, the KMP commander, to detain Mr Ngobi.