When you arrive at Land Protection Police Unit –LPPU at Criminal Investigations Directorate headquarters in Kibuli as early as 7am, you will find people of all ages sitting in the wet paspalum, others taking rest on verandas waiting to lodge or following up complaints of their land being grabbed by mysterious claimants.
But if you sample out 10 of both young and elderly waiting to be attended to, you will notice that at least four of them cite Charles Kyagaba as a man who they say has frustrated occupancy or utilization of their land for 10, 15 or 20 years.
The complaints about Kyagaba trace as far as 2001 up to those that are two weeks old. But all the complainants do not know how Kyagaba became to be an interested party on their land yet at the time of buying or selling as well as documents older than Uganda’s independence do not cite him anywhere.
In fact, some have been sued by mysterious people only to find out that it is Kyagaba behind when their cases are being heard in courts. Even though many of them have won numerous cases against Kyagaba or mysterious people, they have not been able to utilize their land as more and more law suits and police cases keep coming up.
Not only land owners or buyers are puzzled over Kyagaba’s tricks of grabbing land but police detectives too. The Inspector General of Police –IGP Martin Ochola directed comprehensive investigations against Kyagaba in April and the report indicates he has successfully frustrated by creating ‘ghost’ land tenants commonly known as Bibanja holders.
Commissioner Charles Mutungi who is LPPU commandant, detectives Senior Superintendent of Police –SSP Mirondo Fred Paul and Assistant Inspector of Police –AIP Andama Joseph all their reports states that Kyagaba has consistently created non-existing claimants or in some cases hires people to claim interest on the land that is being sold or already purchased.
Mutungi explains that at first they thought Kyagaba was a genuine claimant until several complaints kept piling all pointing at him. Police say Kyagaba hires people as far as Mubende district to come and claim the land. In some of the instances, the claimants do not know even where the land is located.
“Kyagaba creates people. The claimants are never seen in some cases but he succeeds on securing court injunctions. During our investigations we summon people or go to the ground but the claimants do not exist. He explores the loophole that magistrates or judges do not go on the ground while giving orders. Many are suffering with non- existing claimants,” Mutungi explains.
Mathias Bukenya, has been suffering with Kyagaba since 2012 with the 1.5 acres of land he was leased for 49 years from Kampala Archdiocese. Bukenya paid premium of 165 million shillings with ground rent of 3.3 million shillings.
At the time of securing lease, the land on block 419-420 plot 793 at Kasubi was being used by the Brothers of St. Amans. But Bukenya compensated the Amans with 20 million shillings for the sweet potatoes, cassava and banana plants which was in their crop garden at Kisubi-Kawuku and the compensation was acknowledged by Fr Charles M Kimbowa who was the director.
As Bukenya planned to set up structure to utilize the land, he saw a court order stopping his activities because he had not compensated one Annet Nalweyiso. Upon consulting Kampala Archdioceses, he was informed that the Catholic Land Board never had any Kibanja holder called Nalweyiso.
“When we investigated with the church, we noticed that Nalweyiso is a daughter to a former church work and she was married in Mubende district. Kyagaba brought Nalweyiso and we took her there with police to show us our land. But to our surprise, she didn’t know even where the land starts and ends from,” Bukenya explains.
The documents signed by late Archbishop Cyprian Lwanga, Msgr Charles Kasibante and Msgr Charles Kato all indicate Nalweyiso was a daughter to church work and she had left the place several years ago.
Hannington Kizito a son to Koseya Buule, has been fighting to rescue family worth 3 acres for 17 years. Trouble started when Buule verbally leased an acre of land to Gabudyeri Minani in 1990s. Minani later shifted to Kiboga district and returned to the same piece of land after 9 years.
The court documents show Minani had asked 2.7million shillings in order to full hand back the land to Buule in 2004. Unfortunately, Buule did not the money in cash and he asked for three months to get it. When the money was got, Buule called Minani but to their shock he said he was no longer interested in giving the land back to Buule but he had given it to his children among them Charles Kyagaba.
Buule sought court redress and Justice Kwesiga quashed the Kyagaba and Minani claims of interest on the land. That did not stop Kyagaba as he immediately fronted Specioza Nalukwago as another daughter to Minani also claiming interest. In short, Buule family has worn four court cases against Kyagaba but he has kept front other claimants and he grabbed two more acres from Buule.
“Kyagaba is a mercenary and has entrenched security and court systems. There is no police where you can report him and he gets arrested. He even laughs at us who report him. He has even penetrated the State House Land Office. He has court clerks, court registrars and prosecutors who steal court files for him and several cases have spent years in shelves,” Kizito said.
URN has seen letters Kyagaba secured from State House land office headed by Njuba, through Nathan Bwoogi, the legal officer to frustrate among others Bukenya. Apart from Bwoogi, Assistant Superintendent of Police –ASP who was Officer Incharge CID at one of the police stations in Kampala South Region where majority of the complaints come from verbally petitioned CID headquarters seeking protection from his senior who is at the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police –ACP and was allegedly witch-hunting him attempting to prosecute Kyagaba.
Another ACP who also conducted an independent report about Kyagaba was shocked when he found him in a meeting with his immediate boss who is at the rank of Commissioner of Police –CP. The ACP decided to keep the report to himself because Kyagaba even smiled at him and signaled to him that he was clever than he thought. Three months ago, the ASP and ACP were transferred from KMP.
“Kyagaba is a daring man. When you get him in all corners, he resorts to threatening you. He has sent me threats of intention to sue but I am not scared. Kyagaba is everywhere. People are suffering because of court orders from people they don’t know,” Mutungi said.
URN did not succeed in getting a comment from Kyagaba as his known telephone number was off. But the question remains why Police, SHACU and Office of the Directorate of Public Prosecution have failed to successfully prosecute Kyagaba. All cases of criminal trespass, malicious damage to property and theft have not succeeded. CID has several files of people accusing him of grievous harm, destruction of property through his hired goons but those cases have not gone beyond DPP’s perusal.
Many of the victims described him as a man ‘larger’ than the state. Some of the other victims include Shamim Namale whose land is in Ggaba, Beatrice Mpamize and Reuben Musiime. The media has seen several petitions to RDCs, DPCs, RPCs, CID, State House and IGP but nothing much has been done to stop Kyagaba (first published by URN).