Part of land belonging to Mulago National Referral Hospital was allegedly allocated to a private developer and plans to build a private pharmacy (according to sources) are underway, despite objections from hospital management, exposing contradictions within government agencies over the handling of public land.
Official correspondence from September 2025 shows that land comprised in Kibuga Block 5, Plot 790, along Dwaliro Road on Mulago Hill, was cleared for private development based on a survey report that was relied upon by Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) and the High Court of Uganda, even as Mulago Hospital maintained that the land is part of its legally acquired property.
In a letter dated September 17, 2025, the Minister for Kampala Capital City and Metropolitan Affairs, Honorable Minsa Kabanda advised the Commissioner for Surveys and Mapping to halt any further boundary opening exercises on the land, noting that an earlier survey conducted in April 2024 had already informed a consent judgment between KCCA and private parties and enabled the issuance of a temporary development permit for construction on the plot.
Her letter (seen by this publication) further indicates that reopening the boundaries could create contradictions with positions already taken by the High Court and KCCA, effectively allowing the private development to proceed.
However, in a subsequent letter dated September 23, 2025, Mulago National Referral Hospital wrote to KCCA rejecting the development, stating that Plot 790, Block 5, is hospital land acquired between 1996 and 1998 under an African Development Bank-funded project, saying all occupants at the time were compensated and vacated, and that there are no lawful kibanja holders on the land.
The hospital also stated that part of the disputed land accommodates a sanctioned road corridor and warned that continued development would interfere with hospital operations, further requesting KCCA and other authorities to halt all construction activities on the plot.
It is this situation that Kampala Central MP aspirant Susan Kushaba (claiming to have received information from credible sources, that the land has already been given out, and even the land tittle was issued) has cited as evidence of what she described as systematic failures in safeguarding public land.
Kushaba, a former chairperson of St Balikuddembe (Owino) Market, said the Mulago land dispute reflects a pattern she has observed during her campaign engagements, where public land and facilities are allegedly being transferred to private interests through administrative processes, often without public scrutiny.
She said addressing such gaps would be a priority if elected, arguing that Parliament must play a stronger oversight role to protect public property and ensure government institutions act in the public interest.
Kushaba has also urged the president of Uganda, and NRM Chairperson, YK Museveni to closely review the conduct of the people he appoints to manage public services, warning that continued loss of public assets and weak service delivery on the ground is fueling public dissatisfaction.
She said resolving such disputes would help rebuild public trust and ensure that essential institutions are protected from encroachment. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
