In the first installment of this unfolding land saga, we reported how veteran lawyer and former Attorney General Godfrey Lule Sserunkuuma petitioned Lands Minister Judith Nabakooba on November 4th 2025. His complaint was clear and stern: take action against former Acting Commissioner of Land Registration Johnson Bigira.
Mzee Sserunkuuma accuses Bigira ofirregularly switchingownership of a prime parcel of land belonging to him, former Deputy Chief Justice Steven B.K. Kavuma, and their associates. Today, in our second series, we turn to how a High Court judge’s ruling effectively shielded Bigira, leaving the elderly lawyer and his group feeling cheated. But first, a brief recap.
The Land in Question
The contested land, part of Busiro Block 558, sits in Bussi, Wakiso District. Estimated to be worth several billions of shillings, it has long been registered in the names of Mzee Lule’s group. Trouble began when a woman, Rose Nansubuga, petitioned the Office of the Commissioner of Land Registration, claiming that Lule’s land overlapped with 640 acres, purpotedly belonging to the estate of the late Adonia Kaaya Sembuya Mukasa, an estate she says she allegedly administers.
Her application arrived at a time when the substantive Commissioner, Hajji Baker Mugaino had been illegally suspended on orders of former Inspector General of Government, Olive Betty Namisango Kamya, a suspension President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni later angrily rescinded. In Mugaino’s absence, Bigira handled Nansubuga’s complaint.
A Reversal that Sparked Outrage
On February 20, 2025, Bigiirarightlydeclined Nansubuga’s request, noting that her application hinged on allegations of fraud, something the law is clear about. Under Section 88 of the Land Act (Cap 236, as amended), a Commissioner cannot cancel a land title on grounds of fraud.
Yet curiously, when Mzee Lule’s group asked Bigira to, nowlift caveatsNansubuga had lodged onto their land, also on grounds of fraud, he refused, arguing that he needed to conduct `investigations` first! Frustrated, the group sought court intervention. But on June 2nd 2025, High Court Judge Simon Peter Kinobe dismissed their application aspremature, reasoning that Bigira had not yet cancelled the title, but was still conducting `investigations.` That ruling would later become the hinge on which this entire dispute swung.
The Sudden Turn
Just two months later, on August 19th 2025, Bigira issued an orderrectifying, in effect, cancelling Mzee Sserunkuuma and his group’s Certificate of Title. This decision stunned the landowners. They say Bigira never furnished them with the results of the “investigations” he claimed to be conducting, he never accorded them a right to be heard, yet, he went ahead to condemn them without notice.
To them, it appeared as though Bigira had waited for the judge’s ruling and used it as a shield to carry out the very act the law prohibits – cancelling a title on what they insist were baseless fraud allegations. Feeling betrayed, not only by the Commissioner’s office but also by the justice system meant to protect them, Mzee Lule’s group has renewed calls for the Lands Minister to take stern disciplinary action against Bigira.
With Hajji Baker Mugaino now back in office, they are also demanding that he restore their cancelled Certificate of Title and rectify what they describe as “the mess created during his absence.” The central question now is whether Bigira’s superiors, both administrative and political, will act.
What is undeniably at stake is more than just land. It is the integrity of a critical national institution, the Office of the Commissioner of Land Registration. For now, the country watches. Whether justice will finally prevail for Mzee Lule and his group, remains a story still being written.
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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