By Aggrey Baba
Attorney General Dr Sam Mayanja has thrown his weight behind Hajji Hassan Bulwadda’s plan to transform Kampala’s historic City Square into a modern commercial and tourism hub, declaring that businessman Hassan Basajjabalaba has no subsisting claim to the two-acre property because his lease was rescinded and the land reverted to government.
In a strong endorsement of the proposed redevelopment, according to Daily Monitor’s reporting, Mayanja challenged Basajjabalaba and other opponents to stop “flogging a dead horse,” arguing that the legal basis of the businessman’s claim to the public property no longer stands.
Mayanja’s intervention gives fresh impetus to Bulwadda’s proposal to redevelop the strategically located site into a modern complex featuring thousands of shops, hotel accommodation and improved public amenities.
The Attorney General explained that a lease does not automatically confer permanent proprietary rights on a tenant but only grants the right to use property for a specified period under the applicable terms.
His argument directly challenges Basajjabalaba’s reported claim that he holds a 49-year lease over City Square and must be compensated if government wants to take back the property.
Basajjabalaba told Parliament’s COSASE that the lease, initially granted for five years in 2002, had subsequently been extended to 49 years.
But Mayanja maintained that the lease had been rescinded and the land reverted to government, disputing the businessman’s assertion that he still had a legitimate stake in the property.
The distinction is crucial to Bulwadda’s proposal because it puts the focus on the government’s authority to consider a new development plan for the public land rather than treating Basajjabalaba’s compensation demand as an established entitlement.
Bulwadda’s plan envisages two major commercial developments: a complex on the Supreme Court side featuring approximately 1,000 shops and 250 hotel suites, and another along Kampala Road with about 2,500 shops.
The proposed UGX400 billion investment would also incorporate free public toilets, free Wi-Fi, banking facilities, resting areas, tourism exhibition space, solar energy installations, rooftop greenery and landscaped public spaces.
Bulwadda has proposed a water fountain and recreational areas intended to retain the public utility of City Square while introducing modern commercial facilities to the city centre.
The redevelopment proposal has, however, attracted opposition from Kampala Lord Mayor Ronald Balimwezo and Leader of the Opposition Joel Ssenyonyi, who have raised concerns about the site’s historical importance and the preservation of public space.
Their objections have broadened the debate to include the future of City Square as a civic space and the extent to which any new development would preserve public access.
Mayanja’s intervention places the Attorney General firmly behind the legal argument that the disputed lease should not automatically stand in the way of government considering the young tycoon’s proposal.(For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
