Lands boss asked to present title for contested Mukono land

Kampala. The Commission of Inquiry into Land Matters has ordered the Commissioner in-charge of land registration to present original documents for ownership of a 488-acre land covering three villages in Nama Sub-county, Mukono District.
“We need all the original files and information on that land to inform our investigations. You [Robert Opio] need to come along with original documents for land at Mengo on Plot 10 Balintunma Road,” ordered Justice Catherine Bamugemereire, who chairs the land inquiry.
Justice Bamugemereire ordered the lands boss to present the documents on October 30 when he appears before the land inquiry to testify in regard to two complaints arising from Mukono District and another regarding a prime plot in Mengo, Rubaga Division.
The orders resulted from failure by Mr Opio to respond to questions in regard to various transactions on two land titles for the Mukono land where more than 300 families are alleged to have been violently evicted and their property worth millions of shillings destroyed.
Bibanja holders and the family of the late Ham Mukasa led by lawyer Peter Mulira petitioned the land inquiry, accusing businessman Israel Dick Kyamuwangire Banoba, 84, of fraudulently acquiring and transacting on the disputed land.
Witnesses accused Mr Banoba jointly with Mr Opio of transacting on the land without the consent and knowledge of the executors and or administrators. Documents presented before the land probe shows that the Ham Mukasa title on Mailo Register Volume (MRV) was issued in 1914 for land but subsequent transactions leading to the sub-divisions of the land were made in 1966 after his death, when an administrator had not been appointed.

Dilemma
Appearing before the land inquiry yesterday, Mr Opio was tasked to explain how the land belonging to a deceased person was moved from MRV to block and plot system without an application and how details were changed.
Mr Opio, who did not have ready answers, was asked to respond to accusations in regard to fraudulent transactions of the disputed land, the validity of Mr Banoba’s title issued on top of an existing one in the names of Ham Mukasa and how encumbrances were removed without following the due process of the law.