A multimillion-shilling offer has failed to end the bitter battle over prime land at Mulago, with an arbitration effort led by former Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga collapsing after Dr Charles Lugero rejected a reported Shs2 billion cash offer and a condominium floor from businessmen Omar Ahmed Mandela and Samuel Brian Segawa.
The failed mediation has thrown the dispute into fresh turmoil, with Dr Lugero maintaining that no amount of money will persuade him to surrender his claim over the contested property, which he says belongs to Mulago Hospital and is critical to access and visibility of his hospital.
Sources familiar with the arbitration proceedings said Mandela and Segawa tabled the multimillion-shilling offer before Dr Lugero in an attempt to settle the dispute and avoid further confrontation over the prime piece of land.
“Mandela offered Dr Lugero cash and a condominium floor, but Dr Lugero rejected it. Dr Lugero says no amount of money will lead him to give in. He insists that the visibility of his hospital has been blocked by the businessmen’s new skyscraper and that the only way out is for them to vacate the land because it belongs to Mulago Hospital,” a source familiar with the discussions said.
The source said Dr Lugero’s position remained that the dispute was not fundamentally about compensation but about access to his hospital and the alleged occupation of land belonging to a public institution.
The failed arbitration therefore leaves the parties facing a potentially prolonged legal and administrative battle over the property.
Dr Lugero: “They Must Go”
The disagreement centres partly on the impact of the newly constructed Getwell Pharmacy building on Lugero’s hospital.
Lugero reportedly contends that the massive development has obstructed the visibility of his hospital and compromised access to the facility, potentially exposing the institution to financial losses.
“With all due respect, my clients can’t access our premises. We are insisting that Mandela and his friend must go,” the source said, summarising Lugero’s position during the dispute.
Dr Lugero’s side reportedly argues that the businessmen cannot resolve the matter simply by offering money because the underlying question is whether they have a lawful interest in land belonging to Mulago Hospital.
The rejection of the settlement proposal has consequently hardened the positions of the parties.
Mandela and Segawa, however, have questioned why their businesses are being singled out when the disputed area contains several other occupants.
Seggawa Questions Targeting
During the arbitration process, Segawa reportedly challenged Dr Lugero’s focus on Getwell Pharmacy and questioned why his business was being targeted when other occupants also occupy parts of the contested land.
“Why is Dr Lugero targeting only Getwell Pharmacy? This land has many other bibanja occupants,” Segawa reportedly asked Kadaga during the arbitration.
The argument introduces another dimension to the dispute: whether enforcement or eviction efforts are being applied selectively against particular occupants while others remain on the land.
The businessmen have also relied on a court order restraining KCCA from taking specified enforcement measures against the premises.
That order has provided temporary protection for the development while the broader dispute continues. But the legal protection does not finally resolve the ownership question.
Title Cancelled
The arbitration failure comes at a particularly sensitive moment because the Commissioner Land Registration has already cancelled a certificate of title held by Segawa over the disputed Mulago property.
In a cancellation order issued in May 2026, the Commissioner Land Registration invoked Section 89 of the Registration of Titles Act and ordered the cancellation of the certificate of title comprised in Leasehold Register Volume KCCA619 Folio 9, Kibuga Block 5 Plot 3531 at Mulago, registered in the names of Brian Segawa.
The cancellation followed a presidential directive dated April 20, 2026, in which President Yoweri Museveni directed the Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development to cancel a certificate of title issued over land the President said belonged to Mulago Hospital.
According to the cancellation order, President Museveni observed that the Uganda Land Commission had allocated the disputed plot to Segawa, who later obtained a certificate of title despite protests from Mulago Hospital.
The President further noted that the Uganda Land Commission had not obtained a no-objection from the user of the land before making the allocation.
The presidential intervention subsequently triggered action by the Lands Ministry and the Commissioner Land Registration.
The cancellation of the title has significantly altered the legal landscape surrounding the property, although Segawa’s separate court proceedings against KCCA remain relevant to enforcement actions against the structures.
ULC Rescinds Allocation
The Commissioner Land Registration’s decision was also based on an earlier move by the Uganda Land Commission to rescind the allocation.
According to the cancellation order, a letter dated February 6, 2026, from the Secretary to the Uganda Land Commission to the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development communicated a decision taken during the Commission’s meeting of February 4–6, 2026.
Under Minute 13/2026(a)(18), the Commission reportedly recalled and/or rescinded its earlier decision under Minute 13/2024(a)(2260) of July 22–26, 2024, which had approved the allocation of the land to Segawa.
With that allocation subsequently rescinded, the Commissioner Land Registration moved to cancel the resulting certificate of title.
The cancellation order states that the Commissioner was invoking the statutory powers of the office under Section 89 of the Registration of Titles Act.
The title, registered in Segawa’s name, was consequently ordered cancelled from the register. The order was signed by Bigiira Johnson for the Commissioner Land Registrar in May 2026.
Museveni Orders Government Action
The cancellation order records President Museveni’s position that Mulago Hospital had been negligent because it did not challenge the alleged encroachment earlier.
However, the President reportedly directed that Government should compensate Segawa for his kibanja interest and structures on the land.
The President also reportedly observed that where an occupant had never paid busulu to the owner during the period of occupation, claims for loss of business should not arise.
That position has implications for the competing claims over compensation, particularly if the occupants seek damages or compensation following the cancellation of the title.
The Government’s position appears to be that legitimate interests in structures or kibanja rights can be addressed through compensation, while the underlying institutional land should be protected.
Court Puts KCCA Demolition On Hold
While the administrative process has moved against Segawa’s title, the businessman has secured temporary judicial protection against KCCA.
On June 19, 2026, the High Court issued an interim order restraining KCCA, its agents and anyone acting under its authority from closing his premises, demolishing developments or interfering with his occupation and use of the property. The order arose from Miscellaneous Application No. 495 of 2026, filed by Segawa against KCCA.
Justice Acellam Collins ordered that KCCA and its agents be restrained from taking enforcement action aimed at closing the applicant’s premises or business, demolishing developments thereon or otherwise interfering with the applicant’s dealings, occupation, enjoyment and possession of the developments pending determination of the application.
The order has effectively given the businesses operating from the premises temporary breathing space.
However, it does not amount to a final judicial declaration that Segawa is the lawful owner of the land. Nor does it determine the competing claim by Mulago Hospital.
This distinction is crucial because the title cancellation and the court proceedings concern different aspects of the wider dispute.
The Mulago Land Question
The contested property lies in one of Kampala’s most valuable institutional areas, close to Mulago National Referral Hospital and other major health facilities.
The strategic location has made it commercially attractive, with Getwell Pharmacy operating from the premises.
For Mulago Hospital, however, the land is more than a commercial asset. Hospital authorities have maintained that the property forms part of the hospital’s institutional estate and has been required for hospital operations.
Correspondence previously cited in the dispute indicates that Mulago Hospital has argued that land in the area was acquired between 1996 and 1998 under an African Development Bank-funded project.
The hospital’s position was reportedly that occupants were compensated and vacated, after which the property was incorporated into hospital operations.
The hospital has also raised concerns over access, arguing that developments on the disputed section could interfere with hospital operations.
It is this issue of access and the impact of the new Getwell development that has become particularly contentious between Lugero and the businessmen.
Getwell At The Centre
Getwell Pharmacy has consequently become the most visible face of the wider land dispute. Its new building has emerged as a major point of contention because of its location and size.
Lugero’s side argues that the development has affected access and visibility to his hospital. The businessmen, on the other hand, maintain that they have legitimate interests in the property and have challenged what they see as efforts to single them out for eviction.
The argument over other bibanja occupants has become central to that defence. Segawa’s reported question to Kadaga—why Getwell was being targeted when several other bibanja occupants remain on the land—captures the wider dispute over enforcement.
The issue is whether the problem is the occupation of public land generally or the particular development undertaken by the Getwell interests.
KCCA’S Role
KCCA has been involved in the dispute through its development control and enforcement mandate.
In July 2025, the authority issued temporary development permission concerning the remodelling of an existing structure on Plot 790, Block 5 at Mulago.
The permission referred to a consent judgment in Civil Suit No. 0200 of 2025. However, the permission did not amount to an unrestricted licence to develop the entire property.
KCCA reportedly required the remodelling to remain within the existing structure and required demolition of sections encroaching on neighbouring properties.
The developer was also required to comply with public health, building control and physical planning laws.
The subsequent enforcement attempts by KCCA became the subject of Segawa’s High Court application.
Mandela’s Role
Businessman Omar Ahmed Mandela has been repeatedly mentioned in connection with the Getwell Pharmacy interests.
Claims that Mandela is a business partner of Segawa and has interests in the pharmacy have featured prominently in the wider controversy.
However, the High Court order available for this story does not name Mandela as a party to the proceedings. It also does not establish that Mandela owns the disputed property.
His involvement, therefore, should be distinguished from the formal court proceedings involving Segawa and KCCA.
What is clear from the arbitration account is that Mandela participated in efforts to resolve the dispute and, according to sources familiar with the discussions, was prepared to make a substantial financial settlement proposal. That proposal failed.
Arbitration Ends Without Deal
Kadaga’s intervention had raised hopes that the parties could resolve the dispute outside court.
Instead, the reported Shs2 billion offer and condominium proposal failed to persuade Lugero to withdraw his objections.
The rejection means the parties remain divided over the fundamental issue of whether the businessmen should remain on the land. Lugero’s position is that they should vacate.
The businessmen maintain that they have interests that cannot simply be extinguished and have questioned why their property is being targeted when other occupants remain.
Meanwhile, the Government has already cancelled Segawa’s title, while the High Court has temporarily restrained KCCA from taking specified enforcement action.
The result is a legal stalemate with potentially significant consequences for all sides.
What Next For Getwell?
The future of Getwell Pharmacy now hangs in the balance. The business operates from a property whose title has been cancelled, while an existing High Court order continues to provide temporary protection against specified KCCA enforcement actions.
For Lugero, the failed arbitration means his demand for the businessmen to vacate the land remains unresolved.
For Mandela and Segawa, the collapse of the settlement effort means the fight for their interests in the property is likely to continue through legal and administrative channels.
And for Mulago Hospital, the dispute has become a test of whether institutional land can be protected from competing private interests after years of occupation and development.
The saga has also exposed tensions within Government’s land administration system, where the Uganda Land Commission initially approved an allocation, later rescinded it, and the Commissioner Land Registration subsequently cancelled the resulting title following a presidential directive.
At the centre of the dispute is therefore not simply the future of one pharmacy or one businessman.
It is a battle over who has the right to occupy and develop prime land in the heart of Mulago—and whether private commercial interests can survive once Government determines that the underlying property belongs to a public institution. For now, Kadaga’s attempt to broker peace has failed. The Shs2 billion offer has been rejected.
The condominium proposal has not worked. The title has been cancelled. But the court order remains in place against KCCA’s specified enforcement actions.
And with Lugero insisting that the businessmen must leave, while Segawa questions why Getwell alone is being targeted, the battle over prime Mulago land appears destined for another round in the courts and Government offices.
Author Profile
- Charles Gazza Kodili is a seasoned journalist with over 20 years of experience in the media industry. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communication. He’s currently the Chief Editor at the Investigator.
Charles can also be reached via; Tel: +256 774 108978
Email: [email protected]
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