Court now declares Masaka Children’s Park a no-go area
Locals stand near Masaka Children’s Park, which was fenced off by unknown developer on August 12, 2023. PHOTO | ANTONIO KALYANGO
What you need to know:
The court halted activities on the Children’s Park land due to a legal dispute over its ownership and usage.
Court in Masaka has extended an interim injunction stopping Masaka City authorities from taking over the disputed Children Park land until the main application is disposed of.
Businesswoman Sylvia Nagujja Lutta dragged Masaka City Council to court seeking to halt their move to take over the land on Plot 64-74 on Elgin Street in Masaka City pending the determination of the main application.
The injunction, according to the deputy registrar of Masaka High Court Julius Burora, has been extended after both parties appeared in court on Monday.
In a September 8 interim injunction, court restrained the respondents (Masaka City Council), their agents, workers or assignees from carrying out any developments, dealing or transferring the Children’s Park pending hearing and determination of the main application.
“This order of interim injunction shall remain in force until October 6 when miscellaneous application will come to court for further hearing,” the deputy registrar added.
Vendors were utilising the disputed land (children’s park) until August 11, when they were relocated to the new market.
The applicant’s lawyer, Mr Sam Ssekyewa, said his client has a title deed, which she acquired in 2011, as part of her share on the estate of her late husband and that of former Kampala businessman Francis Kakumba.
“We were surprised by the acts of mob mobilised by a section of city leaders to vandalise the fence our client had erected on her property and that is the reason we went to court to secure an injunction. We are happy that the interim order is extended as we wait for the determination of the main application” Ssekyewa said.
Mr Mathias Mpuuga, the Nyendo/Mukungwe Municipality MP and also Leader of Opposition in Parliament, said they would honour the court process.
“She [Lutta] went to court to halt our attempts of saving public land, what she should know is that she was allocated public land irregularly and her lawyer never advised her to do due diligence,” he said.
Mr Mpuuga said leaders are committed to fighting for repossession of several public properties that were allocated to private developers under unclear circumstances.
He cited the Trans Parking Yard land, Ssenyange Forest land, part of Hill Road Public School land, Katwe Market land and Masaka bus park land.
Background
On August 12, unknown people fenced off the Children’s Park with iron sheets –a move that was protested by residents and area legislators led by Dr Abed Bwanika (Kimaanya/Kabonera) insisting that the land belongs to the city council.
Angry city dwellers early this month stormed the park and pulled down the fence, allegedly erected by businesswoman Sylvia Nagujja Lutta.
According to a September 1 search report signed by Jannat Nabuuma, the senior registrar of titles for commissioner land registration, the leasehold register Volume 515 Folio 13 land at Elgin Road Masaka Municipality Plot 64-74 still has a running lease of 99 years and 11 months issued on January 1, 1959.
The report seen by this newspaper also indicates that the owner of the land is Masaka Town Council [currently city council], a body incorporated under the urban authority’s Ordinance registered on November13, 1961 under Instrument No.151182. The lease expiry date is December 1, 2058.
