The case was filed by the administrators of the estate of the late Keresipo Kitaka, who claimed ownership of 16 acres of land at Namboole.
The applicants; Norah Nabagesera, Christine Nakazi, Justine Nassuna, Agatha Namutebi, and Rosette Namayanja filed a suit against the Uganda Land Commission (ULC), seeking to cancel a consent agreement they earlier signed. The agreement had relinquished their interests in the land, but they claimed they did not fully understand its contents when they signed it about 4 years ago.
In his ruling, justice Bernard Namanya stated that there was sufficient evidence to prove that the applicants were fully aware of the consent agreement’s terms and implications.
“There is ample evidence to prove that the applicants knowingly and voluntarily, agreed to the terms of the impugned consent judgment. I am satisfied that the applicants knew the implications of their signature on the consent judgment. The applicants knew what they were doing, and understood the full implications of the consent judgment,” Namanya said.
He added that the consent judgment acknowledged that, 33 years ago in 1991, the government had compensated the late James Nsubuga, the executor of the estate, for the compulsory acquisition of the 16 acres of land at Namboole. Records from the Bank of Uganda confirmed that compensation had been paid. The judge dismissed the application to set aside the consent judgment and ordered the applicants to bear the costs of the application.
“The impugned consent judgment was not meant to provide fresh compensation to the applicants, but rather to acknowledge that the estate of the late Keresipo Kitaka, was fully compensated for the 16 acres of land at Nambole way back in 1991; and that the land was compulsorily acquired by the government of Uganda…I hereby dismiss the application to set aside the consent judgment entered by the court on 6 July 2018, between the applicants and Uganda Land Commission,” the judge emphasized.
Background
On July 6, 2018, ULC entered into a consent judgment regarding the land at Mandela National Stadium, following a civil suit (No. 153 of 2016). The parties agreed that the 16 acres of land had been legally acquired by the government and that the applicants had been fully compensated, with the payment received by James Nsubuga, the executor of the late Keresipo Kitaka’s estate.
In 1989, the government compulsorily acquired land for the construction of the stadium, including the 16-acre portion of Kyadondo Block 234 Plot 263 at Kirinya, which was registered under the names of James Nsubuga and Norah Nabagesera in their capacity as executors of Kitaka’s estate. In 1991, the government paid Shs 10 million as compensation for the land.
In 2016, Nabagesera and Nsubuga filed a civil suit against the ULC, which was heard ex parte. In August 2017, Justice Godfrey Namundi ruled in their favour, ordering the registrar of titles to cancel the ULC’s registration on the land title in favour of Nsubuga and Nabagesera. However, the Uganda Land Commission challenged the ex parte judgment in 2020, but their challenge was rejected.
Subsequently, the Commission and the applicants signed a consent agreement recognizing that the land belonged to ULC and that compensation had been paid. Despite this, the applicants later filed another application, contesting the agreement and alleging that they had been promised money to take Nsubuga abroad for medical treatment, but he passed away before receiving the funds.
In his ruling, Judge Namanya reaffirmed that the government had already compensated the estate and dismissed the applicants’ claims.
