By Our Reporters
Through the Buganda Land Board (BLB), Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi exercises control and management over much of the land in Buganda. This includes the 350 square miles (mostly in Kampala, Wakiso & Mukono districts) and larger tracts of land recently returned to him under the new understanding with the central government. The recently returned land (1000s of square miles) is scattered all over Buganda and comprises of things like old districts, county and sub county headquarters in all central region districts. Clearly this is much more work than what BLB has for years been used to. It requires more scrutiny and more checks in place to guard against fraudulent transactions that can spoil the king’s name.
KABAKA ADAPTS;
The king has adapted to this new situation by putting in place more levels of approval in all transactions relating to his kingdom land (mostly leases and tenants seeking to regularize their occupancy). How has he done this? When any land-related application comes to BLB through its numerous branches, members of the legal, surveying and operations departments within BLB put together an inter-departmental committee to study the application. At BLB head offices at Masengere Plaza near Bulange, the applicant will be expected to produce a verification report showing that all the relevant Kabaka chiefs (parish, sub county/Gombolola & Ssaza chiefs) have verified and given their no objection to the land transaction. The most important signature to be inputed in this process is that of the Owessaza (County Chief) which is appended upon adequate consultation with the lower chiefs and village structures. Once all those are in place, the inter-departmental teams will study the paper work and establish a file for that particular transaction/tenant. A reference number will be opened for that file and all details electronically captured in the e-system of BLB records. That file with all the others will then be discussed as part of the business at the next BLB top management meeting at which all the departments are represented. The management will discuss and even come up with a minute evidencing whatever decision has been taken on the application or that particular file. All this subsequently goes to the relevant subcommittee of the BLB governing Board. The subcommittee will summon the relevant BLB managers and technical personnel to answer the tough questions defending whatever decisions they might have taken on that particular file/application. Then a report is prepared for consideration during the subsequent BLB board meeting. The BLB board comprises of some of the well accomplished elderly Baganda including Ibrahim Kabanda (former URA BoD Chairman who lives in Kololo), Dr. Eve Kasirye (sister to late Robinah Kiyingi), Levi Zzimbe (former greater Mpigi LC5 Chairman), Prince David Wassajja (Kabaka’s young brother) and Eng Martin Kasekende (elder brother to Deputy BoU governor Louis Kasekende & ex-Standard Chartered bank MD Herman Kasekende) among others. BLB CEO Kyewalabye Male is the BoD Secretary. It seems too much scrutiny already and yet the process doesn’t end there. Whatever the BoD has decided has to be minuted and the justification of the same communicated to cabinet for further scrutiny at their subsequent cabinet meeting. The day the BoD sits, anxiety will be written on all BLB top managers’ faces because it’s a day for tough questioning and quite often, the BoD members reject things in case they deem the transaction not good enough for their ratification. Cabinet will equally subject whatever business the BoD brings to them to same scrutiny. Along the way, new facts might emerge and even appeals from any aggrieved or dissatisfied party will be entertained and accordingly decided upon. This actually is why sometimes the BLB leasing and titling processes last for as long as 8 months. It’s simply because there are many levels of scrutiny, verification and approval to which the file/application is subjected. Teams of surveyors (both internal and externally-retained firms) will have to go to the ground and hold meetings with all stakeholders and write a report back to the headquarters. Recently, a powerful central government figure (desiring to title Kabaka’s land on which he lives) got frustrated thinking this delay was a ploy by BLB managers to extort money from him in return for them to expedite the titling process. According to eye witnesses, the gentleman who had followed up a couple of times lost his cool and quarreled in BLB offices before directly ringing the Kabaka. To his shock, the king (in the hearing of the vindicated BLB staff) told him that is how the new system works adding that “it can’t be me [the Kabaka] who sanctioned such checks and balances to be the ones ordering a waiver simply because so and so is my long time friend.”
MAKUBUYA FINAL;
From the BLB branches all the way to the BoD and Cabinet, the process already seems too complex requiring patient waiting. Yet the Cabinet ratification isn’t the very final stage. At the very apex are two other levels of scrutiny and approval. These are Kabaka’s PPS Peter Mpanga whose office in Bulange is the custodian of the seal that must be imprinted on every lease title BLB issues out on Kabaka’s behalf. Mpanga sometimes sits in the Palace and his decision (to seal or to decline) can’t be vetoed or reversed by even the powerful Katikkiro Charles Peter Mayiga. “Being one that must always be where the Kabaka is as PPS, Peter Mpanga is a very busy man but he takes this seal business to be a very serious assignment from His Majesty that he quite often has to personally drive to Bulange to just come and put the seal on whatever business is pending,” said a Mengo cabinet member who was full of praises for the Kabaka for insisting on such a watertight title acquisition procedure to weed out possible fraud which is common in the titling practice. “The Kabaka is very right because once work isn’t done properly, you get a lot of disputes forcing people to go to Court but with this new system in place all BLB practices are well immunized against fraud and abusive conduct by BLB officials. At each level of scrutiny members will consider the availability of the land in question and ensure the premium values set are competitive to ensure the kingdom isn’t cheated or made to lose money in potential connivance schemes. The lease values can no longer be under declared because if you escape the BLB management, the Board, Cabinet or even the PPS will catch you.” Peter Mpanga has a group of support staff in his Bulange office who help him verify and compile periodic reports updating the king on the number and nature of leasing and titling transactions that have been ratified using his (Kabaka’s) seal. Many of these PPS staffers are young lawyers with a lot of enthusiasm and energy for work. They must support their boss Peter Mpanga do a good job lest they lose the king’s trust and miss out on future deployment opportunities. Then some contracting will be undertaken between the leasee (applicant/tenant) and the leaser (the Kabaka). This stage requires the Kabaka signature. Mutebi has designated four attorneys who sign on his behalf upon sufficient scrutiny that everything has been done thoroughly well. These are people with sufficient knowledge and practice on matters regarding land conveyancing. They are four in total including his own younger brother Prince Wassajja who is considered to be his eyes and ears in all decisions made in Bulange Mengo-and more so those relating to BLB. The other is CBS MD Kaaya Kavuma, a former minister of lands and close personal friend and mentor to the Kabaka. Kaaya prefers to append his signature from the comfort of his posh residence in Mutungo where he will summon the relevant BLB managers to go through the entire process to ensure everything is done properly before his signature is appended. Kaaya has been around long enough to have made enough mistakes from which useful lessons are naturally learnt. Sources say he is the hardest of the 4 attorneys. Many times processes have had to be repeated from scratch because Kaaya has noted and pointed what would ordinarily be overlooked as a small mistake not fatal enough to hurt the entire transaction. The other is Ibrahim Kabanda, a well accomplished Kololo-based old man whose advice Kabaka Mutebi can never disregard. Finally is Deputy Katikkiro Apollo Makubuya who is a very successful lawyer practicing with MMAKS Advocates. Kabaka trusts him a lot and they have closely worked together for such a long time. There is so much connection between them coming spontaneously to the extent that the king often calls him by his first name (Apollo Nelson). He likes simplifying things for the BLB managers by abandoning his very comfortable office at DBT Building to drive to Bulange and append his signature from there. Gratefully, things have been simplified for the BLB managers because one of the four attorneys is enough to ratify any transaction. It doesn’t have to be all of them. It’s about convenience; whoever they get first scrutinizes the relevant paper work and append his signature. Whereas efforts are being undertaken to shorten the process, many users of BLB services have gradually come to understand it wouldn’t be prudent practice to rush such complex land transactions given that much of the subject land is in very prime in places comprising the Kampala Metropolitan Area. For comments, call, text or whatsapp us on 0703164755.
