Prime
Plan to revisit court decision exposes Administrator General
On December 22 last year, Justice Zeija dismissed an application in which a section of the Buyana family had sought to overturn orders of an earlier judgment. PHOTO/COUTRTESY
What you need to know:
- The three petitioners from the estate of the late Susan Buyana Muyinda are Ms Norah Ssekatawa,95, Ms Dorothy Namakula,84, and Ms Namusoke Namakula,80.
The Administrator General’s Office and court officials are on spot over plans to revisit a ruling issued by Principal Judge Flavian Zeija regarding the management of about 12 square miles of land in Buganda and Bunyoro regions.
Three elderly petitioners in their April 1 complaint are seeking Justice Zeija’s intervention to block Makindye Family Court Judge Alice Komuhangi from revisiting his ruling on the land.
“It is this conspiracy group with the help of Makindye registrar that have influenced the plaintiffs to file a fresh application in Makindye court… abusing the Principal Judge’s authority at that level in process, abusing court process to buy time and avoid our estate accountability as respondents grow weaker and weaker wasting away the estate,” the compliant states in part.
The three petitioners from the estate of the late Susan Buyana Muyinda are Ms Norah Ssekatawa,95, Ms Dorothy Namakula,84, and Ms Namusoke Namakula, 80.
The hearing of the application has been slated for Monday next week before the Makindye Court.
According to the complaint, Mr Robert Bogere, an official from the Administrator General’s Office, is accused of frustrating the women’s efforts to access the estate for the last 20 years.
They claim he is behind the filing of numerous applications by the rival family members.
“For over 20 years, our estate was mal-administered by the office of the Administrator General specifically, Mr Robert Bogere, who has put us through untold suffering as we sought to be allowed to administer our estate that is wasting away,” the petitioners state.
But Mr Bogere denied the claims, stating: “That estate was distributed before my mother was born. I don’t know how I can be a problem to an estate that was distributed even before I was born. I started working on that file in 2012 and I have recovered two square miles.”
“The problem is there is a group of thugs, conmen and a minister involved. The other problem is that the family is also divided into two groups. If I had wanted to steal their land, how come every land I recovered, its title is still intact?” he added.
Justice Komuhangi is accused of being bent on hearing the application.
When contacted yesterday, she declined to comment and referred Daily Monitor to the spokesperson of the Judiciary, Mr Jamson Karemani.
“The matter is before her (Justice Komuhangi) but I have not heard a chance to find out about her thoughts of stepping aside from hearing the case in question but I will find out the details of the case before I can ably comment,” Mr Karemani said.
Regarding the matter, Justice Zeija yesterday said: “I don’t know what exactly they are looking for but they are free to apply for stay of execution of my orders as long as there is now proof that they appealed by show of notice of appeal.”
Background
On December 22 last year, Justice Zeija dismissed an application in which a section of the Buyana family had sought to overturn orders of an earlier judgment.
This was on grounds that the lawyers of the rival family members led by a one Bill Kalibbala Kaggwa Apollo did not attach a copy of notice of appeal, an omission which was not legally acceptable.
The rival family faction had run to the Principal Judge seeking to stay the earlier orders of Justice Lydia Mugambe in which she had ruled on August 16 last year in favour of the elderly women, ordering that they are granted letters of administration to administer the estate of the late Buyana.
