Family, King’s College Budo fight over five-acre land

School authorities at Budo, one of the oldest high school’s in Uganda, claim this is all part of a sinister ploy by certain parties (names withheld) to grab their land.
“It is unfortunate that after all these years, there are people who can come from nowhere and claim to be kibanja holders of the school land,” Mr John Fred Kazibwe, the school’s head teacher, told this publication yesterday.
“When I became a head teacher in November 2021, they reignited their plans and I think this is how people are trying to grab public properties, which we shall not allow at any cost,” he said. 
Mr Kazibwe maintained that Budo acquired the land in 1975. 
However, Mr Kigemuzi, who is one of the surviving nine children of the late James Kiberu (purported original kibanja holder), said he returned in 2014 to reclaim their land after the death of their only surviving uncle.

“Our father was killed in 1975, which made us briefly flee, leaving there our mother, who also died in 1990. Our uncle remained as the caretaker but he also passed on in 2013.  They (Budo) got a fraudulent lease where they annexed many people’s plots and added on their 43 acres. We are not the only people who are affected,” he said.
This is where another twist to the tale emerges. Before he started to reclaim the land, Mr Kigemuzi reportedly sold it off to Syptech in December 2013.
A copy of an alleged sales agreement seen by this newspaper purports that the company purchased the land for Shs220 million on December 19, 2013.
The company, according to this document, paid Shs200 million in cash, promising to cover the unpaid balance once Mr Kigemuzi had relocated remains of his relatives buried on the land.
“The vendor introduced the purchasers to the local council authorities and the Kabaka’s chief as the new owners of the land,” the purported agreement reads in part.
However, Mr Kigemuzi denied ever transacting with the said company, saying, “In fact, I didn’t even know this company exists.”

“All this is manipulation by the school lawyers but they know the truth. I have never sold our father’s land to anyone, we are just fighting to reclaim it from the school which illegally took it from us,” he said.
Budo claims that in 2014, Mr Kigemuzi reportedly dragged the school to the High Court Land Division, challenging its ownership of the land.
The school claims it defeated Mr Kigemuzi in two successive court battles.
Katende, Sserunjogi Advocates & Legal Consultants, counsel for Budo, showed this publication a copy of their letter dated April 20, 2023, responding to Ms Susan Abbo, an officer with the legal department in the President’s Office, who had sought to verify Budo’s claim.
The law firm wrote that the Kigemuzi family (the complainants) filed a suit in the High Court Land Division in 2014, which case was dismissed. 
The letter did not indicate particulars of this purported suit. In the same letter, they said a similar suit was again filed vide; HCCS No. 37 of 023 in the High Court in Mpigi where they sought interim and temporary reliefs. 

“Court dismissed the case on April 17 on different counts, including the fact that the complainant failed to prove their interest on the suit land. The school has at all material times been in possession and the complainants admitted that the school is the registered owner of the land suit,” the letter reads. 
This publication has seen a copy of a leasehold certificate of title issued by the government on November 7, 1990. It has trustees of King’s College Budo as the registered proprietors. Mr Kazibwe said this title is still on and running.
Mr Kazibwe also referred to the court decisions but Mr Kigemuzi, however, denied ever battling in court with the school, calling it a concocted story.
“We (family) have never battled in court with the school, it’s on record unless they battled with another person, not me,” he said. 
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Mr Kigemuzi said as the rightful owner of the land, their family is even paying Busuulu (property rates) to Buganda Kingdom, which is the overall landlord.
“We started fully reusing this land but the school started disturbing us. We ran to the President’s Office, they summoned them and they refused to come. The office asked us to remain there, we went to the Administrator General, went to Buganda Land Board and legalised everything,” he said.
Officials from State House land department, on April 14, wrote to Budo about the matter, resulting in the reply on April 20 by the school’s lawyers.
“The school is the registered owner of the land in issue; it has never been in contention until the persons similar to those who lodged a complaint in your good offices started undermining the school’s quiet possession of its land,” reads part of the response.