By Aggrey Baba
The Kabaka (king) of Buganda, Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II, has gone to court to stop what he sees as an illegal attempt to take over a piece of land in Buddo, Wakiso District, holding great cultural value for the kingdom.
Through his lawyers, the Kabaka has sued presidential advisor Phiona Barungi and a man named Robert Sewava, who claims to represent the Ssembizzi sub-clan. He accuses them of wrongly claiming ownership of land that belongs to the kingdom and threatening tenants who have lived there for generations.
The land in question sits at Buddo in Kyengera Town Council. It includes the site where Buganda kings are crowned, making it one of the most important places in the kingdom’s culture and history. Tourists and locals often visit it as a symbol of Buganda’s identity.
The king says the land is part of the 350 square miles officially given to him under the 1900 Buganda Agreement. After the abolition of kingdoms in 1967, the land was taken over by the government, but it was returned when kingdoms were restored.
Since then, the land has been managed Buganda Kingdom through the Buganda Land Board.
Now, the Kabaka says the people living on the land pay annual ground rent (busuulu) and have lawful agreements with the kingdom. He is now asking court to stop Barungi and Sewava from interfering with these tenants or claiming the land.
He also wants court to declare that neither Barungi nor Sewava have the right to decide who owns the land, or to call meetings with tenants as they have been doing. The Kabaka says their actions are illegal, confusing, and disrespectful to the kingdom’s authority.
According to the NewVision, Sewava argues that the land was given to his clan by Kabaka Ssuuna I in the 1500s, and claims the Kabaka only got registered as the owner during colonial times when King’s College Budo was built. But the King’s legal team says land ownership in Buganda must follow the 1900 Agreement, which clearly shows the land belongs to the Kabaka.
Buganda’s Attorney General, Christopher Bwanika, also wrote to Barungi last year, informing her that the land is under the Kabaka’s estate and managed by Buganda Land Board, advising the Ssembizzi clan to find unclaimed land if they have any valid cultural interests.
Despite that, Barungi went ahead and invited all tenants for a meeting in June this year, saying she wanted to find a lasting solution, a movewhich led to the Kabaka’s decision to sue.
Court has now given Barungi and Sewava 15 days to respond to the lawsuit.
