Woman weeps over kidnap, house grab by ex-aide to Kayihura

Kampala. A former primary school teacher yesterday sobbed uncontrollably as she gave a damning account to the commission investigating land matters.

Ms Mary Margaret Meri said she was kidnapped several times, held hostage and forced to sign transfer forms giving away her house to an advisor to then Inspector General of Police Kale Kayihura.
She says she was forced to write several letters giving away the house to Gen Kayihura’s former technical advisor Ambrose Murunga, a Kenyan, and Kampala lawyers Geoffrey Nangumya, and another she identified only as Collins.

“The property was awarded to me as divorce settlement. I mortgaged the house for Shs250m with Housing Finance Bank, but I only took Shs40m because of the global economic crisis which pushed interest from 16 per cent to 33 percent, I decided to pay off the loan,” Ms Meri said.

Ms Meri said she decided to sell off her loan to a Chinese money lender Alexander from Huadang Gudong based at Kitgum House, who paid the Shs57m to Housing Finance Bank and took the title.
“After five months, I received a call from Murunga’s broker asking me to meet him at Quality Cuts Kabalagala over the property. When I arrived, he told me someone wanted to buy the property. I informed him my property was going for Shs700m but he insisted the property was Shs200m,” Ms Meri narrated.

She said Mr Murunga and Mr Nangumya later joined them and drove her to Martin Road in Old Kampala. “I realised they were armed. I overheard them talking how Murunga was working with State House. We later drove to Kitgum House where Murunga and Nangumya introduced me as their sister and that I had sent them for the title.”
She said she was denied an opportunity to consult her children.
Ms Meri, who is now homeless and lives at the Mulago hospital casualty, said she was driven back to Nagumya’s office where Nangumya drafted a November 24, 2013 agreement between her and Mr Murunga, selling the house for Shs186m.

“I was put under duress to sign. They later drove me to my property where I was given creased notes amounting to Shs10m, but on verification it was only Shs9m. My Lord, my house is worth one billion shillings, when I realized they were armed I decided to play it cool so that I can have a chance to challenge it in future,” Ms Meri said.

She said she failed to establish with the Chinese whether Mr Murunga and group had paid off the loan.
While in Mr Nangumya’s chambers, Ms Meri said she signed many documents whose details were dictated to her.
“I signed many letters including one introducing Mr Murunga as the new landlord for the Church of Latter Day Saints, who were my tenants.”

The Church was paying Shs11m in rent every three months.
When she insisted Mr Murunga to recover her month, on September 23, 2013, he called her to Lugogo, used policemen to arrest her, and drove her to Mr Nangumya’s office in Old Kampala.
“There, I found Mr Murunga, who accused me of obtaining money by false pretence. They brought me a pen and paper to write to the Bank manager to transfer the Shs11m to his account,” Ms Meri said amid sobs. She said the trio threatened to kill her and dump her body in the lake.

“My Lord, while I was in the basement of Mr Nagumya’s office, Mr Murunga’s driver came and told me to write whatever they ask. He claimed he was tired of throwing bodies in Lake Victoria.”
After writing the letters, Ms Meri was locked up at Jinja Road Police Station for two weeks.

At that point, the Commission Lead Counsel, Mr Ebert Byenkya, handed Ms Meri a typed letter but she denied authoring it.
“All the letters I wrote were hand written. While locked up at Jinja Road Police Station, I hid my phone in my private parts and I called my lawyer who came with journalists and rescued me,” Ms Meri said.

Upon release her lawyer advised her to go to exile but she did not have money.
Ms Meri told the land probe that during her two weeks ordeal at Police her two lorries of Irish potatoes got rotten.
“After my release, my lawyer put a caveat on my property but it was removed by Mr Murunga and he transferred the property into his names,” she said.

She said the Law Council had turned down, and her lawyer declined to represent her at Legal Aid of the Uganda Law Society.
“My Lord, while I was moving to the Law Society, I was knocked by a vehicle, my sister took me to Kotido where I spent three years without moving. When the Land Commission came, I decided to come and pursue my case,” Ms Meri said amid tears.
Ms Meri, who had spent 10 years in Zambia with her husband, said she now sometimes goes without food.

Family background
Ms Meri, who hails from Kotido in Karamoja and was married Tony Kasadha, said she was puzzled whether Mr Murunga was used to take her house at only Shs9m or he acted alone.
Ms Meri requested the commission to help her get back her property saying it was the only thing to guarantee her survival.
Her three children live with their father Ms Kasadha while she picks food from trucks that bring foodstuffs to St Balikudembe market to survive.
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