A family of four has sued the land commission of inquiry over alleged abuse of the sub judice rule, following the commission’s involvement in the land matter that is before the High Court.
Richard Kiwanuka, Timothy Batalaze, Joshua Kyazze and Mansur Kigozi on Monday petitioned the Civil Division of the High Court in Kampala, seeking an order stopping the land commission or its agents from interfering in matters regarding the land on block 100, plot 195, Kyandondo.
The family sued the land commission secretary, Dr Douglas Singiza and the Attorney General through Kiwanuka and Company Advocates.
The family members accuse Singiza of conflict of interest in the land matter. According to court documents, the four got the land form their late father and want court to ignore the land probe commission concerning the said land.
The commission had earlier on ordered that the status quo on the land remains pending its decision on the matter following a complaint by Harriet Namayanja, their partner aunt.
The family’s lawyer Richard Kiwanuka says Batalaze, Kyazze and Kigozi sued Namayanja in Nabweru Magistrate’s Court for encroachment on their land and the case was ruled in favour of the siblings but latter on their aunt Namayanja appealed in the High Court.
Kiwanuka contends that it is a violation of the sub judice rule for the land commission to interfere in matters before court especially that it is Namayanja who appealed for the review of the court.
The Deputy Registrar of the Civil Division of the High Court, Sara Langa, has given the Attorney General and Singiza 15 days to file their defence.
Meanwhile the land commission has blocked the Ministry of Finance from paying Shs100 billion as compensation for rock claimants in the Isimba dam hydropower project. “The commission has learnt that Shs100 billion has been earmarked for payment to the Isimba dam rock claimants in the financial year 2018/19. The commission’s preliminary findings are that the claims have no basis. The permanent secretary is directed to cease any payments,” said Lady Justice Bamugemereire, the Chairperson of the land probe commission on June 27 at the Archives and Records Centre in Nakasero, Kampala.
The commission members were appointed on December 8, 2016 and sworn in on February 19 2017, with the mandate to inquire into the effectiveness of law, policies and processes of land acquisition, land administration, land management and land registration in Uganda.
President Museveni in May granted an 18-month extension to the commission to enable it complete its task. That was the second extension of the tenure of the commission after the initial six-months-tenure expired on November 9, 2017. On November 10, 2017, President Museveni granted a six-month extension to the commission to execute its mandate which was ending May 9, 2018.
In February this year Bamugemereire handed to President Museveni an interim report from the commission. The interim report constitutes an update to President Museveni on the progress of the inquiry after seven months into the inquiry.
Museveni established the commission after rampant land evictions and complaints that he had been receiving from the public.
The commission in its first four months of public hearings, received 4,900 complaints and listened to 287 of these and reviewed 600. Several people, including government officials, local leaders, ministers, and investors have been grilled by the commission over various cases including land grabbing, murder and forceful evictions among others.
Recently, the Inspector General of Government (IGG) and the Permanent Secretary of the Finance Ministry, promised to investigate the commission over accountability after it emerged that the Shs13 billion it had been allocated had been used up before finishing the assignment.
The spending of the above billions has caused public arguments with some people saying that since the commission of land inquiry has exposed some big government officials, more money be given to them. Others, mainly the Opposition, have come up to say this is a lot of money spent on a commission of less than 10 members. Yet in the supplementary of 2017/18, the commission asked for an extra Shs7.8 billion it deemed to be enough to complete its work.