Minister backs Muslims in Jinja land fight with hospital
State Minister for Lands, Sam Mayanja, meets Muslim leadership in Jinja over cemetery land dispute with hospital. PHOTO | TAUSI NAKATO
What you need to know:
- The Principal Administrator of Jinja Regional Referral Hospital, Mr Herbert Ssemakula, handed over the hospital land records to the minister to verify the true owner of land.
The State Minister for Lands, Mr Sam Mayanja, has sided with the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council (UMSC) in its battle with Jinja Regional Referral Hospital over four acres of land on which Jinja cemetery sits.
The contested land, located on Clive Road West (Kampala Road), is next to Jinja Regional Referral Hospital and Bax Road.
Mr Mayanja said no Land Board has the authority to give away land that belongs to an individual or authority like the UMSC.
“There was a dispute between the hospital and the Muslim community; the Muslims have been using this land since 1927 to bury their dead decently.
“The land belongs to them because all the Constitutions since 1900 clearly state it. They have a minute of Uganda Land Commission (and) are just being intimidated,’’ he said.
He added: “The laws are very clear and I have gone through all of them. Section 59(1) a of the Land Act clearly states that when the land is occupied is not available for distribution by the Land Board or Commission, it is only those on that land who can apply and obtain a free land title.”
He subsequently ordered for the cancellation of all illegal titles on the Muslim land, citing the Commission Land Registration Act (Section 91), and directed the Uganda Land Commission to process a land title for Muslims.
“I have proclaimed the fact that it is land for Muslims. Since it needs surveying. I am going to draft a letter to have it surveyed and mapped so that the title can be issued in the names of the Muslim community,’’ he said.
Mr Mayanja added that he will sign on the hospital documents that claim ownership of land as “fake one”, and ordered the Muslim community to continue with their plans of redeveloping the land.
The Principal Administrator of Jinja Regional Referral Hospital, Mr Herbert Ssemakula, handed over the hospital land records to the minister to verify the true owner of land.
“When we looked into the file, records indicate that the land ownership wrangles commenced in October 2009, and they were settled in April 2022.
“The Land Board wrote to the Minister of Health, who also wrote to the Attorney General for guidance, but more information is in the file; but we are peaceful because our aim is to ensure that people get services,’’ Mr Ssemakula said.
According to reliable sources, the hospital wants to redevelop the land by constructing a blood bank and a Cancer Institute.
The UMSC national chairperson, Mr Muhammad Lubega Kisambira, said the land belongs to Muslims.
“The land was given to Muslims in 1927, and it has been the area where we bury Muslims. Sometime back, we got into conflicts with individuals who had grabbed land and secured eleven titles on it, but the titles were canceled and another battle between Muslims and hospital erupted. But the Minister has been fair to us,’’ he said.
According to Mr Lubega, they are going to use part of the land for redevelopment so that Muslims can benefit from it.
He added: “The land has 4.6 acres, but we shall use part of it for burial, then sit with (Jinja) City leaders and other people to set up projects which will help in the socio-economic transformation of the Muslim community and Jinja because it is prime land.”
