Prime
General defiantly builds without approved plan
A sign post which the late Kalya’s family put on a section of the contested land where Kayunga Sub-County offices sit. Inset is Brig James Kinaalwa. PHOTO | FRED MUZAALE
What you need to know:
- Early this year, a section of leaders in the district staged a peaceful demonstration against the brigadier’s conduct, which paralysed work at Kayunga Town Council offices and Kayunga Regional Referral Hospital, which are located in the same vicinity.
Kayunga District leaders have given up on attempts to block a Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF)general from constructing a building on a contested piece of land.
Brig James Kinaalwa is constructing a commercial building near the Kayunga Town Council offices.
But the town clerk, Ms Faridah Kulabako, claims she did not approve the structure’s building plan.
Ms Kulabako told Daily Monitor that there was still an unresolved issue of land ownership on the plot.
“We have written to the brigadier several letters asking him not to go ahead with the construction work, but he has refused to heed to our directive,” the town clerk said on Monday.
She said the chief administrative officer also wrote to Brig Kinaalwa to halt the construction, but he has gone ahead with the project.
“We have given up on him, let him do what he wants,” Ms Kulabako added.
Early this year, a section of leaders in the district staged a peaceful demonstration against the brigadier’s conduct, which paralysed work at Kayunga Town Council offices and Kayunga Regional Referral Hospital, which are located in the same vicinity.
During the protest, a group of locals led by Mr Steven Ssebaana, the Kayunga Sub-county speaker, carried placards with inscription, “Brigadier Kinaalwa you should vacate the Kayunga land. Nobody is above the law”.
They stormed the construction site carrying photos of the decorated army officer, which they later pinned on th e iron sheet fence that the soldier had erected around the disputed piece of land.
They also carried all letters that had been written to the brigadier by the then Kayunga chief administrative officer, Ms Roselyn Adong, directing the officer to vacate the land.
The plot that measures 70ft by 100ft is part of a prime land under dispute with Buganda Kingdom and Malaki Kalya’s family. Recently, Buganda Kingdom local officials uprooted signs posts erected by Kalya’s family.
Late Kalya’s family, which claims to have a title for the land, also wrote to Brig Kinaalwa and asked him to vacate the land, but he did not respond.
Brig Kinaalwa claims to have bought the land from Buganda Land Board at Shs35m.
“Why is Buganda Kingdom not complaining? If anyone is aggrieved, let him go to court,” Brig Kinaalwa said during a recent interview.
Mr Dennis Bugaya, the BLB spokesperson, declined to speak about the matter.
Last September, the Mukono High Court deputy registrar, Ms Mary Ikit, issued an interim order stopping Brig Kinaalwa from erecting a structure on the land.
In the interim order, court restrained the army officer and his agents from constructing structures and ferrying building materials to the land.
