Open letter to the President
Court hammer. Photo/Courtesy
What you need to know:
Thirty years ago, in 1993, the Custodian Board, an agency that was set up by your Government to manage expropriated properties, recognised us as “the original registered proprietors of the property” (Temangalo land). To this day, we have neither had physical possession, nor have we been compensated for this loss.
Your Excellency, we kindly bring to your attention, once again, that the Temangalo land issue, on which we have a registered leasehold interest, has not been resolved. We are seeking your intervention, under your presidential authority, as our pleas for your help are being hindered, and not being brought to your attention.
Thirty years ago, in 1993, the Custodian Board, an agency that was set up by your Government to manage expropriated properties, recognised us as “the original registered proprietors of the property” (Temangalo land). To this day, we have neither had physical possession, nor have we been compensated for this loss. Where is the justice in this,Your Excellency? Why are we being penalised when the perpetrators who committed the fraud, deception and lies with regard to ownership, have not been held accountable? Respectfully, Your Excellency, we would like to remind you, the people of Uganda and the workers who contribute to the NSSF, that public state[1]ments and disclosures have been made by your Parliament, your Government officials and your Minister and public servants about our rightful ownership of Temangalo. On May 5, 2021, Parliament adopted the Cosase Sub Committee Report which recommended that “ the Government of Uganda has a constitu[1]tional obligation to ensure that the property …..is handed over to its legitimate owners, being Temangalo Tea Estate Limited”. The MPs who voted to adopt this resolution were from the NRM and other party affiliates who represented the people of Uganda in your parliament. The Report also clearly articulated that ownership transfers of Temangalo made outside the authority of the Custodian Board were illegal, and there[1]fore nullified. In 2018, the Custodian Board wrote a letter to the Cosase Chair noting that the “former owners have always been struggling for access, it is high time they are helped”. In 2018 and 2019, former Land Commissioners at the Ministry of Lands (Kulata and Opio) testified, under oath, that transfers of the land to Abbas Mawanda (who sold it to Amos Nzeyi) and then, by Nzeyi to the NSSF were made amid a running lease owned by the Moosa family and Temangalo Tea Estate Limited. In 2018, at the Temangalo hearings, Commissioner Frederick Ruhindi asked NSSF to review its opinion on mediation, saying “justice, development and peace are elements of inclusivity and can never be exclusive”. Justice Bamugemereire also noted that “social inclusion and social justice are key. Uganda has had a turbulent past. This particular estate has had a turbulent past” At the same hearings, the then managing director of the NSSF sympathised with our family, saying that “I feel sorry for this family.”
In April 2021, Lands Minister Dr. Mayanja told the press “the NRM-led Government made a decision to correct this historical injustice by the application of the DAPCB Act, the Custodian Board on April 28, 1993 returned the property to Temangalo Tea Estate. Therefore, the ownership of Temangalo (property) is beyond reproach. The fraud which has hitherto hindered these Ugandans from quiet enjoyment of their property cannot be tolerated”.
Dr. Mayanja’s press article on Temanaglo, in the New Vision of April 10, 2021, is an eye opener for every Ugandan who believes in justice. Your Excellency: We are also informed by your State House PPS team that the matter of Temangalo has been investigated and that a detailed, comprehensive report has been prepared. While we are not privy to the outcome of this report, we are confident that given the facts in this matter, the conclusion would bear out that we have a legitimate claim on this property.
Your Excellency: How much more evidence do you need in order to correct this injustice? The truth and facts about Temangalo are well known to your Government, to your Ministers, including your Attorney General, and to the people of Uganda. Yet, when the political operatives that surround you are confronted with these facts and the truth, they very conveniently ignore them, and manipulate the justice system to arrive at conclusions that are favourable to them. No land matter has garnered so much attention in Uganda as Temangalo because the facts and the truth have been so blatantly ignored by so many, for so long. Your Excellency: We pray and ask for your intervention to settle this matter.
Moosa Family, Tamangalo Tea Estate Limited
