Court orders UNRA to pay Shs4.6m for 'sacred tree’, instead of Shs500m claimed by owners
The purported sacred tree whose owners had asked for Shs500m to appease the clan spirits. PHOTO/ COURTESY
What you need to know:
- Like the case with Kampala-Entebbe Expressway, Works and Transport Minister, Gen Edward Katumba Wamala, recently said the Busega-Mpigi Expressway will be tolled and motorists will pay money depending on the vehicle size.
- The project which kicked off in May 2020 was expected to be complete in May this year, but construction works currently stand at only 15 percent.
Court in Mpigi has ruled in favour of Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) in a case against a claimant seeking Shs500 million compensation for a purported sacred tree in Mpigi District.
Court said Mr Hussein Katamba should instead get the Shs4.6m that UNRA initially offered for his 0.083-acre piece of land on which the tree is found.
The construction works for the 23.7km expressway had stalled partly because the owners of the land had asked for Shs500 million to appease their clan spirits before the tree is cut down.
“We have successfully defended the matter in Court and court has granted that we only compensate the claimant for kibanja and not as a cultural site,” said UNRA’s media relations manager, Mr Allan Ssempebwa.
Court 'condemned' the frivolous claim of Shs500m in case of Hussein Katamba Vs UNRA.
According to court, the site is not a gazetted cultural site and therefore, Shs500 million compensation was unjustifiable.
The project which kicked off in May 2020 was expected to be complete in May this year, but construction works currently stand at only 15 percent.
Like the case with Kampala-Entebbe Expressway, Works and Transport Minister, Gen Edward Katumba Wamala, recently said the Busega-Mpigi Expressway will be tolled and motorists will pay money depending on the vehicle size.
He said the majority of Project Affected Persons (PAPs) had already received their compensation packages and the remaining few will be cleared soon.
The ongoing construction works started from Katende Village in Kiringente Sub County and continue towards Mpigi Town council.
In some areas along the expressway like Maya, Nsangi, Nabbingo, and Kyengera, the contractor has not yet started work while in other places like Lungala, Katende, Lufuka, Ggala, and Maziba-Nkonge serious works like land clearance, topsoil removal, drainage works, earthworks, borrow pit operations and construction of box culverts are ongoing.
The Shs540b new expressway will include four major interchanges to facilitate interconnection with roads at designated points at Nabbingo, Nsangi, Maya in Wakiso District, and Lungala in Mpigi District off both the Northern Bypass and the Entebbe-Expressway whose expansion and construction, separately is ongoing.
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