Govt ordered to pay investor Shs90m over withdrawn land

Mukono High Court has ordered the Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) to compensate an investor whom it allocated 11.5 acres of land in Namanve Industrial Park but later turned around and relocated it to another investor.

Presiding judge Florence Nakachwa, in her July 21 judgement, found UIA in breach of the lease agreement when it failed to deliver vacant possession of the said land to Tirupati Development.

“The plaintiff (Tirupati) has proved to the satisfaction of the court that it validly entered into a lease agreement with the defendant (UIA), which has been breached by the defendant. The land was reallocated to Creston properties limited which took possession and is constructing buildings on the land,” Justice Nakachwa ruled.

Adding: “In the instant case, the plaintiff (Tirupati) being the successful party, is entitled to the costs of the suit. Having found both issues in the plaintiff’s favour, judgment is hereby entered for the plaintiff and I hold the defendant (UIA) in breach of the lease agreement between it and the plaintiff.”

Subsequently, Justice Nakachwa ordered UIA to refund $22,880 (about Shs83.4m) to the investor, Shs7m as money that the investor paid to National Environment Management Authority (Nema) for environmental assessment, and Shs60m as general damages.

The judge also ordered UIA to pay 6 percent interest to Tirupati per annum on the awards given from the date of her judgment until payment in full.

The court also awarded costs to the investor for successfully prosecuting the case against UIA.

Speaking to this publication yesterday, Mr Pamba Egan, the lawyer who represented the investor in court, said President Museveni has always cautioned government officials against frustrating investors and that his client’s case is a classic example.

“My client is not a briefcase company, she has heavily invested in the Ugandan economy and she has brought a number of investors who have also invested in Uganda. President Museveni has continuously warned public bodies and officers to desist doing acts that frustrate investors. We are glad that the court has exposed the corrupt tendencies of the UIA orchestrated by some corrupt officials.” Mr Pamba said.

The land in question is located in Kyaggwe Block 113, Plots number A019 and A020 situated at Namanve-Kiwanga-Mawutu-Nantabulirwa, Goma Division in Mukono District.

However, it is now registered as Kyaggwe Block 113, Plots 3695 and 3736 in the names of Creston properties, which are now constructing buildings there.

Court documents indicate that in 2008, Tirupati Development applied for allocation of the land to it, a request which was granted by the UIA in 2011.

By letter dated June 26, 2012, UIA gave Tirupati an invoice of $22,880 (about Shs83.4m) to pay the premium for the land, which the latter did.

Through letters dated October 28, 2010 and January 5, 2011 respectively, UIA authorised the Commissioner Land Registration to provide surveying services in respect of the two plots and Tirupati paid the surveying dues.

Consequently, on September 17, 2012, UIA granted permission to Tirupati to take possession of the suit land by fencing and grading it.

“After taking possession of the suit land, the plaintiff started the process for developing the land by conducting the survey works, obtaining NEMA clearance certificate, obtaining development and building plans which needed a certificate of land title before they can be approved,” reads in part the court documents.

Adding: “On several occasions, the plaintiff requested or demanded to be given a land title for it to start developing the land but the defendant (UIA) has to date not given the plaintiff (Tirupati) the land title and the defendant is in the process of allocating the plaintiff’s land to other third parties hence this suit.”

Background 
Namanve Industrial and Business Park is the largest industrial park in Uganda sitting on 2,209 acres of land.
Located along Kampala-Jinja highway, the park is currently a home to over 1,000 businesses mainly in production and storage.