A 1950 Court ruling delivered by a white judge William Chach resolved the Njeru Stock Farm land dispute that Enock Sebowa, the plaintiff as the rightful owner.
According to the files obtained by this website, Sebowa (who is now deceased) dragged Ham Mukasa Sekibobo (also deceased) to the Lukiiko of Buganda and High Court for grabbing their family property.
Enock Sebowa had his other other siblings who included Gusite Seluwo and Yoweri Setuba.
The Buganda Prime Minister sitting in a Lukiiko on 11th February, 1950 unanimously agreed that following the court documents obtained, Mr Sekibobo wasn’t the owner of the Njeru Stock Farm Land.
The court together with the Lukiiko based their ruling on the finds of a white surveyor Bulasos Busmen who wrote about the land and informed Court that Ham Mukasa Sekibobo had no interest in this land which is situated at Bukaya, Kyagwe.
Bulasos further provided certificate of titles of every block of the three brothers (Sebowa, Seluwo and Setuba) owned;
Seluwo- certificate number 5421 (part) Bukaya Kyagwe F.C 15734
Sebowa certificate number 5421 (part) Bukaya Kagwe F.C 15733
Setuba certificate number 17035 (part) Bukaya Kyagwe F.C 17225
Upon receiving these titles which the defendant Ham Mukasa Sekibobo failed to provide, Buganda Lukiiko and the Colonial Court Justice Williams Chach pronounced Sebowa and his brothers as true owners of the land.
The Court also told lawyers of Ham Mukasa Sekibobo that their client should pay costs to Sebowa and his two brothers, “because the evidence has shown that he intentionally used land which he didn’t own,” says part of the judgment.
Further Court court decided that Ham Mukasa had no authority on certificate of titles presented above.
“The Council (Lukiiko) of Mengo and the Prime Minister of Buganda baying on Judge Williams Chach of the High Court has ordered that the above certificates be given back to Gusite Seluwo , Yoweri Setuba and Enock Sebowa,” Mengo Prime Minister also ruled.
In 1958, eight years after the Buganda Lukiiko and High Court (colonial) passed their judgment in favour of Sebowa and his two brothers, Ham Mukasa Sekibobo’s family issued an agreement to withdraw the suit, meaning they had conceded defeat.
“The family of Mr Ham Mukasa Sekibobo of Nasuti Kagwe have reached an agreement and consent on withdrawing a suit that was instituted against Mr Ham Mukasa Sekibobo now the late who was buried at the church of Uganda,” reads part of the agreement.
“We have agreed and returned the certificate of titles to the people mentioned above (Sebowa, Seluwo and Setuba).”
Enter Minister of Otafiire
In the recent past, Minister Kahinda Otafiire came under spotlight for allegedly ‘stealing’ government land on which Njeru Stock Farm Sits in Buikwe District.
The land in question is under the management of the National Animal Genetic Resource Centre and Databank, which is tasked with scientific animal breeding.
In one of the Parliamentary Sittings Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga asked the minister to explain circumstances under which he came to take possession of the land.
But Otafiire who was ganged up by most legislators stood his stance holding a blue file and told the MP to read the documents.
The documents Otafiire meant are the court rulings delivered in 1950 which settled the land dispute.
This website understands that Otafiire bought the land from the the successors of Enock Sebowa, who won a court case against Ham Mukasa Sekibobo as indicated above.
In fact, the deputy Inspectorate of Government Mariam Wangadya in a comprehensive letter to Dr Charles Lagu the Executive Director of National Animal Genetic Resource Centre and Databank (NAGRC &DB) advised him to go and search for files in the archives related to Njeru Stock Farm land dispute in which a colonial court and Buganda Lukiiko resolved the matter.
In his letter Dr Lagu who accuses Otafiire of grabbing government land had indicated that NAGRC had acquired lease from the true landlord Ham Mukasa.
But in the 1950 ruling, Ham Mukasa was found to have intentionally used land which he didn’t own. Court ordered him to pay costs to rightful owner and also return certificate of titles.
Dr Charles Lagu who has been in prison battling several Corruption charges and later interdicted by the Line Minister Vincent Ssempijja has however peddled a narrative that government officials who occupied NAGRC’s land illegally are “baying for his blood” because he exposed them.
In his allegations he meant Minister Kahinda Otafiire who legally acquired the Njeru land.
In fact, the Land Commission Head Justice Catherine Bamugemereire had exonerated Otafiire after establishing facts together with the Inspectorate of Government.
