By Aggrey Baba
A senior presidential assistant, Phiona Barungi, is at the center of a heated land dispute in Wakiso District, where several individuals have taken her to court, accusing her of interfering in a matter involving contested ownership.
At the heart of the matter is land located in Businsi, Katabi Town Council, comprising Block 428 plots 518 to 523, property valued in the billions.
The plaintiffs, including Fredrick Kitaka Mutebi, Herbert Muwayire, and Belinda Laker, claim they lawfully bought the land and accuse Barungi of unjustly backing another claimant, Moreen Nalunkuuma.
Barungi is said to have referred to them as “land grabbers” and allegedly declared Nalunkuuma the rightful owner of the land without following proper legal procedures. The plaintiffs argue that this move amounts to misuse of public office, and they want the court to recognize them as the rightful buyers.
Nalunkuuma, on the other hand, insists the land originally belonged to her grandfather, the late Henry Kyobe Makumbi. She says she only discovered that the land had been taken over in 2019 when she visited the Ministry of Lands to apply for a special certificate of title. “Makumbi had two children, and my mother, Zabeth Nabbosa, was one of them. I am entitled to this land as his grandchild,” she told the court.
But the plaintiffs argue otherwise. According to court records, the land was previously registered in the name of the late Yozefu Kasoma and managed by the Administrator General after his death. It was later subdivided and sold to various individuals, including city lawyer Mubiru Kalenge, who in turn sold part of it to Mutebi. He later subdivided and transferred different plots to Muwayire, Kitaka, and others.
The situation worsened in March this year when the land was graded, and structures belonging to Muwayire were allegedly destroyed, despite a court order issued just days earlier prohibiting any interference with the land. The plaintiffs say Barungi and Nalunkuuma ignored the order, and they want the court to intervene.
Nalunkuuma, however, claims she acted on guidance from officials, including Barungi and State Minister Sam Mayanja. She says she was advised to take steps to claim the land but regrets that the process was later disrupted by third parties.
Barungi, who holds a sensitive office as Senior Presidential Assistant on Special Duties, has not made any formal public statements about the case. But according to journalist Farook Kasule’s findings, a registrar from the Lands Division of the High Court recently visited the disputed land and scheduled the next court hearing for April 11.
The case highlights the ongoing challenges surrounding land administration in Uganda and the tension that arises when family legacies meet modern documentation and transactions. As the court date nears, both sides hope the law will finally bring clarity to a long-standing conflict.
