Makerere University has spent more than Shs 1 billion pursuing a legal battle over its disputed Katanga land, prompting parliament to advise the institution to consider negotiating compensation or alternative land from the government rather than continuing with costly litigation.
Appearing before Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Central Government to respond to findings by the Auditor General, university secretary Yusuf Kiranda said the Katanga dispute had proved particularly expensive because legal costs were linked to the high value of the contested property.
He said the university had pursued the dispute for decades to protect its registered ownership while challenging the rights of occupants recognised by the courts.
Committee chairperson Patrick Nsamba Oshabe questioned whether continued litigation offered value for money, given the practical and legal difficulties the government could face in evicting the many people occupying the disputed property.
The dispute centres on land in Katanga Valley, near Wandegeya in Kampala, where Makerere holds a registered title while families and other occupants claim legally protected interests in parts of the property.
The competing claims involve questions about the extent of the university’s registered property and the rights of people who have occupied the area for decades.
In a 2015 judgment, the High court reportedly recognised four family members — Jonathan Yosamu Masembe, Bulasio Buyisi, George Kalimu and Samalie Nambogga — and their licensees as bona fide occupants entitled to remain on the land under the Land Act. The court also recognised Makerere as the registered proprietor.
The university subsequently appealed the decision, and the appeal remains central to the dispute. The contested area has been reported to cover approximately 37 acres across three zones.
Makerere, however, claims ownership of a much larger area of about 277 acres, while earlier reporting highlighted a discrepancy between that claim and the 10.315 hectares indicated on the university’s title.
The dispute has also involved pastor Daniel Walugembe, who claims interests derived from people recognised as bona fide occupants, and businessman Abdu Ssekajja.
In June 2026, the High court struck out a separate suit Makerere filed in 2021 seeking to establish that no kibanja interests existed on approximately 5.13 acres and to evict Walugembe, Ssekajja and their agents.
Justice Samuel Emokor ruled that the suit duplicated matters already addressed in earlier proceedings and pending before the Court of Appeal, amounting to an abuse of court process. The ruling left the appeal as the university’s principal avenue for challenging the 2015 decision.
The decision added to the challenges facing Makerere as it seeks to regain possession of the disputed land. During the PAC hearing, the university’s legal team also reported procedural difficulties in pursuing the appeal because the original respondents had died.
Makerere was seeking the intervention of the Administrator General over the representation of their estates. The university further told MPs that Walugembe had approached the Office of the Prime Minister asserting an interest in the land. According to Makerere’s account to the committee, the Prime Minister consulted the Attorney General, whose guidance indicated that the government should compensate the claimant for his interests.
The Katanga dispute is among several land-related cases highlighted in the Auditor General’s report on Makerere for the financial year ended June 2025.
The report identified encroachment, competing claims and pending litigation affecting properties that include parts of the main campus, land along Bombo Road, property at Bweyogerere and Kabuteta, and land occupied by tenants associated with Mulago National Referral Hospital.
The Auditor General warned that the disputes could affect the value of land reported in the university’s financial statements. Makerere recognised non-produced assets worth Shs 6.704 trillion, including land, during the period under review.
Kiranda said the university had written to the Accountant General seeking guidance on how public institutions should value assets affected by litigation and encroachment.
He added that the university council had made land protection a strategic priority and that management had requested the chief government valuer to revalue its properties. Despite these measures, Kiranda acknowledged that the university’s land remained under serious threat.
Makerere told the committee that it had recovered some properties and taken steps to prevent further encroachment. These included evicting occupants from sections of the main campus, erecting perimeter walls, cancelling disputed titles and placing a caveat on 14 acres of land in Makindye.
However, the university said the caveat had prevented development on the Makindye property, while a court injunction had restricted its ability to fence off a disputed section at Kabanyolo.
Oshabe urged the university to pursue negotiations with the government alongside its legal efforts, arguing that compensation or alternative land could provide a way out of the protracted Katanga dispute while limiting further expenditure on litigation.