Prime
Church, Kayunga in land row
What you need to know:
- Kayunga District officials have halted all church developments.
Kayunga District Local Government and Kayunga Catholic Parish are locked in a land row over the ownership of a prime piece of land near Kayunga Regional Referral Hospital.
The Church insists that Sam Balimukubo, a faithful, donated the land to them in the 1940s.
Mr Emmanuel Kayemba, the chairperson of the Kayunga Catholic Church Lands Committee, says Balimukubo donated four acres of land but authorities at Kayunga Hospital allegedly grabbed two of them to pave way for expansion.
“When the hospital grabbed two acres of our land, we sat as the Church land committee and agreed that the district gives us a land title for the remaining two acres in compensation of the land they had offered to the hospital which they failed,” he says.
He adds: “We were also shocked when the Kayunga District chief administrative officer (CAO) wrote to us instructing that we halt the construction of a nursing school on our own land.”
This paper has learnt that Mr Abdul Batambuze, the Kayunga CAO, ordered the halting of construction projects on the contested land because the Church has no documents to prove ownership of the land.
However, Mr Kayemba says the Church, through Luzige, Lubega, Kavuma and Co. advocates, would sue Mr Batambuze if the contestations continue.
“Be informed that our client strongly believes your actions are not aimed at service delivery but rather making unjust self-enrichment contrary to the provisions of the Public service Act,” the 27 December notice to sue letter addressed to Mr Batambuze reads in part.
According to the documents this publication has seen, the office of Inspectorate of Government (IGG) had intervened in the matter after a petition by the CAO.
The CAO had asked the IGG to conduct investigations into the matter. However, in the IGG’s findings, a copy of which was given to the CAO, the IGG directed that the CAO hands over the land to the Church.
“In view of the above, it is hereby communicated that you ( CAO) should hand over the certificate of title for land comprising block 123 Plot 2002 at Kayunga to facilitate the Catholic Church Kayunga Parish process and its certificate of title for the two acres which it was allocated,” the IGG report reads in part.
But Mr Batambuze dismissed allegations that the Church owns the land.
“They just claim that the land was given to them by late Balimukubo but we have asked them to prove this by giving us the documents, which they have failed to do. Let them drag us to court. We (district) are also ready for them (in court),” he said.
