City Tycoon Sekalala, Family Clash Over Property

A bitter row has emerged between prominent businessman Dick Kizito Ssekalala and a section of his family who accuse him of theft of family property worth millions of shillings.

The family members, most of them orphans, accuse Kizito of grabbing and selling off family property which their late father Lawrence Kizito left to help them as a family.

Kizito Ssekalala owns Kizito Towers on Luwum Street, several business premises and residential houses in Ntinda, Naguru and Kansanga suburbs. He is also a member of Kwagalana Group that brings together some of the wealthiest businessmen in Kampala.

Led by Rosemary Natembo Kizito (50), Mukalazi Kizito and Patrick Wassago Kizito, the aggrieved orphans claim their father Lawrence Kizito died in 1994 leaving several properties to help 30 orphans but Dick Kizito allegedly altered and sold them off without their consent.

They further explain that they have been suffering since 1994 yet Kizito pledged to take care of the family soon after their father’s death.

According to Natembo, the property under dispute includes a 100-acre farm in Kacheera–Rakai district which had more than 50 heads of cattle, two vehicles, a tractor, motorcycle and maize milling factory in Kooki Ward C in Lyantonde.

Others include 9 acres of land in Kyamiyonga-Lyantonde and the 5 million shillings which the tycoon Kizito allegedly withdrew from their late father Kizito’s account in the then Uganda Commercial Bank (UCB) before he closed it, among others.

In reference to a case MSK/AC/214/13 reported to Masaka Administrator General dated 13th February 2013, the family seeks to recover all the lost family-property from Kizito and compensation for the inconvenience and suffering they claim he caused the family.

Natembo says that Kizito has always snubbed family meetings aimed at resolving the matter including the latest one held on February 24, 2013 at the deceased’s home along Kooki road in Lyantonde.

She adds that the meeting was attended by most of the family members and Lyantonde district officials including Lyantonde CAO Martin Yigga and Dickson Ssali.

Patrick Wassago, one of the aggrieved orphans, says the property was meant to generate money for school fees and tuition, plus home maintenance.

In the meeting still, it was established that the deceased left two widows namely Mrs. Tereza Nabona (76) who stays at the main Lyantonde home and Mrs. Gloria Nabukeera (60) stays at the family’s burial ground at Budda village in Bukomansimbi district.

The district Police Commander Thomas Eyaku explains that they advised the conflicting parties to resolve the matter within the family. Meanwhile they are waiting for Kizito’s response to the dispute.

However, efforts to contact Kizito for a comment were unsuccessful as all his known phone numbers were off.