NAKASONGOLA, Uganda: According to a letter we obtained, written on 7th February 2019 to President Yoweri Museveni, Captain Joseph Charles Roy seeks the Last Court of Opinion’s intervention into a conflict between his family company trading as Ziwa Rhino and Wildlife Ranch (ZRWR), and a South African ‘investor’ and MD of Rhino Fund Uganda (RFU).
The Investigator understands that this letter, titled ‘Matters of Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary (The Conflict)’ to the President has since been blocked by heavily compromised State House officials and their spouses.
Capt. Roy and his family empire are restless after the so called investor cum government worker with whom they partnered, violated their partnership with intent to grab their 16 acres of land.
Angella Genade, the aforementioned ‘investor’ and Executive Director of Rhino Fund Uganda (RFU), accuses Capt. Roy of wanting to remove Rhinos from land yet RFU has nowhere else to relocate them. The Rhinos are kept at Capt. Roy’s ranch on concessional terms with Government of Uganda.
Apparently Angella, better known as Angie, has been mobilizing the local and international communities as well as the government to intervene as the issue at hand threatens the endangered species of Southern White Rhinos which are only found at ZRWR and Entebbe Zoo.
However, Roy argues that this is a deliberate effort to tarnish his reputation. He claims that Angies’ purported conflict with RFU against him portrays him as a person threatening Rhinos and tourism in Uganda.
According to Roy’s letter to the First Citizen, in 2002, a lady named Yvonne from RFU approached him and his family with the idea of re-introducing Rhinos into Uganda and have them housed at his Nakitooma Ranch based in Nakasongola District. She managed to persuade him into becoming a conservationist.
He bought another Ranch in Kiryana, Masindi and moved more than 7,000 animals from his Nakitooma Ranch at a cost of over Shs7bn on his own account, he says in the letter under review.
However, Nakitooma Ranch is the current home of these Rhinos. The letter adds that Roy subsequently built a perimeter fence at Buruli-Nakitooma ranch together with Yvonne.
“His daughter Wendy Roy, himself and Yvonne organized international fundraising for the electric fence and the cost of relocating the initial 4 Rhinos from Kenya and another two from USA,” reads the letter to the President, a copy of which we obtained.
It is understood that Roy gave his 16,000 Acres of land for the good of the country and wildlife. He, and his family were part and parcel of the initial Board together with four Executive Directors previously working with RFU. These were key in the decision making process at RFU.
He also constructed all the houses at the sanctuary, drilled boreholes and water dips among other enormous contributions. Documents obtained by this site indicate that in 2010, Capt. Roy gave a 25-year Concession Agreement to Angella’s husband Genade (RIP), to operate a lodge as D&D International on the 16 acre piece of a neighboring land he indeed owns.
Under the Concession Agreement, D&D International, a company owned by Angella and her family, were to pay 10{0945c2a372ac1e8bbfe7cc3e10f9b82eb0b8ae872b07368d754f0396b6ef2afe} of gross income from the lodge and 10{0945c2a372ac1e8bbfe7cc3e10f9b82eb0b8ae872b07368d754f0396b6ef2afe} from the Restaurant to Capt. Roy commencing in 2010.
It was also to pay another 10{0945c2a372ac1e8bbfe7cc3e10f9b82eb0b8ae872b07368d754f0396b6ef2afe} from accommodation and 10{0945c2a372ac1e8bbfe7cc3e10f9b82eb0b8ae872b07368d754f0396b6ef2afe} from the Restaurant to RFU as Capt. Roy’s contribution to the Rhinos’ welfare of the animals.
However, Roy’s letter to the President claims that not a shilling has been paid by D&D International or Angella’s family to him, his family company or the RFU.
He also accuses D&D International of committing several crimes inclusive of tax evading as well as mobilizing the Local Government, public officials and sections of Community with a mission to grab his land, among others.
“All the above and the issue of non-payment forced Capt. Roy to terminate the Concession with both RFU and D&D International in November 2017,” a close source privy with the conflict revealed.
However, Angella refused the termination and ran to Arbitration as provided by their Agreement. “She immediately put a caveat on the entire 16 Acres without interest despite her status of a mere foreign tenant that cannot caveat Mailo land,” reads the letter.
It is also understood that she attempted to convert the tenancy to a lease Agreement. Further, she denied Capt. Roy and his family access to their land and the right to upgrade their lodge and Ranch.
It is known that the Flight Captain sought the intervention of RFU to remove Angella from the role of Executive Director but he didn’t succeed as she holds a lot of influence within the State House corridors. “Their actions and failure to act by the terms of the two Concessions is a danger to the Rhinos,” offers a State House independent minded source.
The sanctuary attracts close to 100,000 tourists a year. In the letter, Capt. Roy requests President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni’s intervention “to reign on the police leadership of Nakasongola for protection of the animals and his land instead of hobnobbing with the land grabbers and Presidential blackmailers.” Watch this space for more details on this developing story…
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