By Mulengera Reporters
State Minister for Lands Dr. Sam Mayanja has castigated the Judiciary institution for persecuting and consistently ruling against whoever brings up a case or complaint against the deeply-landed Kabaka of Buganda.
Mayanja, whose Kazi scouts’ land-related directives were last week declared illegal and nullified by a Judge, now says he personally has been a victim of targeted witch-hunt and victimization and humiliation by Judges since he started coming out to antagonize Buganda Land Board positions, and those of Buganda Kingdom, on land matters.
Mayanja made reference to Justice Moses Kawumi Kazibwe (then of Mubende) who, in 2022, rendered a ruling clearly aimed at undermining and contradicting his pro-poor people views on Mailo land. Speaking on his weekly radio program on Bukedde FM, Mayanja also spoke about Male Mabirizi wondering why none of the many cases he has been filing against the Kabaka and his BLB ever succeeded.
Mayanja claimed that, as a result of his guts to sue the Kabaka personally, Mabirizi ended up being blacklisted which is why its very rare for him to ever win a case in Ugandan Courts. The Minister claimed it is because of this same Judicial conspiracy and vandetta against litigants who stand up to oppose the Kabaka’s personal interests on land that Dr. Mohammed Buwule Kasasa’s cases, relating to the Mutungo land ownership, remained unresolved for roughly 20 years until when he fell ill and died.
Mayanja claimed that Kasasa’s death was partly accelerated by the persecution the Judiciary subjected him to for all the years he fought with Kabaka’s family over the Mutungo land.
In relation to Kasasa, Mayanja talked bitterly about the Attorney General Kiwanuka Kiryowa who he accused of meddling in the Mutungo land wrangle and Kasasa estate matters in a manner that is aimed at benefiting the Kabaka and his officials at Mengo. That the AG had entertained the exclusion of the late Kasasa’s preferred representatives like himself.
Claiming that whoever placates Kabaka’s personal interests on land-related matters, as a Judge, gets promoted and rewarded by the system, Mayanja gave the example of the newly posted Deputy Chief Justice Flavian Zeija. He disputed the circumstances under which Dr. Zeija consecutively ruled against the interests of Chwa estate beneficiaries who were battling the Kabaka.
Mayanja speculated that such favourable pro-Kabaka rulings could have contributed to the accelerated promotions Zeija has enjoyed within his roughly 15 years on the bench. From being a commercial law lecturer at Mubs, Zeija was made resident Judge for Mbarara High Court whereafter he was unexpectedly made Principal Judge after which he was made DCJ, replacing Justice Richard Buteera who retired recently on the account of age.
Mayanja concluded by castigating Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo who he accused of proudly presiding over a Judiciary that has consistently betrayed and let down the President on the issue of protecting what he calls the voiceless and poor people against deeply-vested interests of powerful and wealthy Mailo land owners like the Kabaka.
“The President has ensured there is money for more and more judges to be recruited. He has also enhanced their benefits and terms of service to the extent that they are now the best remunerated and catered for in the whole of African continent. They earn good salaries and a fraction of that for the rest of their lives even in retirement, but there has been no value for money,” said Mayanja demanding that Judges sometimes must (out of neccessity) have to engage in Judicial activism of some sort and render Judgements which positively impact the quality of life for all Ugandans as opposed to leading to absurd outcomes which only increase misery for the ordinary people. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
