LUWEERO, Uganda: That the person of President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni is the Patron of bibanja owners in Uganda is a public secret. Owing this in their arguably evil minds, land grabbers have now switched to the new style of hiding behind created Bibanja owner groups to claim land that owe nothing to their name, The Investigator exclusively report.
The approach is simple. Identify and target the land, convince and front some government big name, preferably close to the first citizen or family, compromise the police and one is good to go. Unfortunately, one of the senior citizens and minister without portfolio, Hajji Abdul Nadduli features as one of the reported newest land grabbers, if documents and interviews we have obtained are to go by.
And his target is none but an aging senior citizen who is also a church elder back in Luweero. The heartbroken old man, thanks to what appears to be a sustained war launched by Hajj Abdu Nadduli, is a 92yr Canon Cranmer Ddiiro Kintu who, is living under the threat of losing land measuring 380 acres. Kintu purchased the land in 1964 from Sowedi Ndigetagala. He had the land registered in his names the following year. The land is located in Buwanuka village, Kamira Sub County in Luweero district.
Oddly the people hounding Cranmer are descendants of Sowedi, the man who sold the land to him. They claim to be the owners of the land much as Cranmer is in possession of the agreement and title issued back in 1965. And our investigation reveals that it is Minister Nadduli using the lot to grab the land sold by their forefather. The game is intended to break Cranmer’s back so that he finally gives up on the property and then… Nadduli shares it with his proxies!
We have gathered info on Nadduli is flaunting his political connections, with the view of intimidating Cranmer as well as his family into letting go of what rightly belongs to them. We also learnt that Nadduli is fronting the trespassers as voters of the ruling NRM Party. By this, he seeks to draw the attention and sympathy of the President towards his proxies in furtherance of the mischief against the old man’s property.
So determined is Nadduli group they have, and still cutting the forest Cranmer planted on part of the land. They are also removing the barbed wires and poles used to construct a fence around Cranmer’s farmland. By doing this they want to destroy evidence that Cranmer has been occupying the land for decades and that he had indeed developed a farm with running water and a fence as well.
Efforts by Cranmer to fight the trespassers through the courts of law has not been without glitches. For illustration, while the High Court’s Civil Section issued an order on October 2nd 2019 stopping Nadduli team from bringing down Cranmer’s forest as well as barred them from entering the suit property, they have since defied the order. Her Worship Flavia Nabakooza Kalungi, the Assistant Registrar issued the order. It remains in force till November 5 this year.
As is usually the norm, the land section of the Uganda Police Force was tasked to oversee the implementation of the Court Order. But police seems to be ‘too intimidated’ to implement the legal directive. In a bid to avoid the task at hand, the Commandant of the Police Unit, Charles Mutungi stand accused of giving a contrary interpretation of the order.
In a letter dated October 7th 2019, Mutungi warns the Luweero Regional Police Commander against evicting any of the trespassers, including Nadduli who is among the people affected by the Court directive. In effect, the letter by Mutungi only serves to give morale to the trespassers. Little wonder they have since raided the land and cut down more trees besides vandalizing the water system on the farm as well as the barbed wires.
We have a protest letter penned by Canon Kintu in respect of the disobedience of the court. The letter is addressed to the Luweero Regional Police Commander. It is dated October 23rd 2019. Other than taking action, the CIID Luweero branch has since wrote to the High Court asking for a certified copy of the order instead!
Writing on behalf of the Luweero District CIID Officer, D/ASP Ben Etwop asks the Registrar of the High Court to furnish the certified order. Much as the letter referenced LWR/CID/VIL V1/ 175 notes that CIID in Luweero is investigating the disobedience of the Court Order, it remains to be seen whether the perpetrators will be brought to book.
But Cranmer is not done. Because word is rife in Luweero that Nadduli is actually doing all the alleged impunities in protection personal interests of the First Citizen (Read President Museveni’s person), the old man has as well tasked the President to pronounce himself in the land grabbing saga.
Through his sons Wasswa Muleme Noah Kintu, Mugabi Timothy Ssenabulya and Kato John Kavuma, trio of whom Mzee Cranmer did signed the powers of attorney, the old man has penned Museveni thus; “It is strongly claimed, through verbal intimidations of course, that you have vested interest in some sections of land in Luweero, ours inclusive. It would be good of the person of His Excellency to come out clean on the matter,” partly reads the letter. It is not clear whether the son of Kaguta is yet in receipt of this dossier, but this is a story for another day. Watch this space…
Author Profile
- Mr. Stephen Kasozi Muwambi is a seasoned crime investigative writer, majoring in judicial-based stories. His two decades’ experience as a senior investigative journalist has made him one of the best to reckon on in Uganda. He can also be reached via [email protected]
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