LAND WOES! NFA, Namanve Industrial Park investors clash

Following an April 29th letter by National Forestry Authority (NFA) to Mr. Muyonga Mubiru Andrew concerning the illegal titling of the Authority’s forestry land in Kaggwe Block 113, the investors who have set up factories on the contested plots are crying foul.
On Wednesday 29th June, exactly two months after the NFA letter, the investors through their association Namanve Industrial Park Property Tax Payers Association (NIPPTPA) protested to NFA.

“We the investors in Namanve Industrial Park/KIBP are worried after the above letter surfaced by surprise because it is a direct challenge to the existing titles of our investments and industries. This arbitrary application of compartments, with no specific boundary lines was something we had never previously understood,” the investors in a joint statement released  point out.

The investors also point to the fact that when Parliament in 2018 approved Lagan Dott Namanve Ltd Infrastructure project to develop roads and other infrastructure within the park, the issue of  compartments did not arise as the project covered the entire park.
They further point to the civil suit filed in the High Court of Uganda, Civil Suit No.40 of 2021, where the NFA, the Commissioner for Lands Registration, and the Attorney General were defendants, a ruling was delivered in December 2021 stating that the compartments were merely management tool, and deemed it illegal.

In the ruling, the Court also confirmed that some sections of the industrial park such as Kyaggwe block 113 plot 393 and others as specified, do not form part of Namanve central forest reserve, that the certificates of title to these sections were issued legally.
The investors also expressed shock that the said letter was addressed to Mr. Andrew Muyonga Mubiru who has no locus on the land, and that NFA issued the letter before writing to the title owners. The plots in question are freehold. The investors said that Muyonga is a close associate of a top city business tycoon subscribing to the Kwagalana Group.

The investors also say that upon receiving a complaint from the tycoon, the Deputy Commissioner of Lands has started the process of cancelling the freehold titles in the industrial park, and they say that one such titles relate to the Kyaggwe Plot 1425 Block 113 which was cited in the NFA letter and yet it was issued ii years ago to them.

The titles mentioned in the letter cover 900 acres of land in the industrial park valued over Ugx570b.
The investors also cite an ongoing court case where the city tycoon sued one Minaz Karmali under case number HCCS No.322 of 2021, where his claims to have a kibanja over a portion of the investment park are being contested. Another police case registered at Seeta Police station CRB 157/2022 shows that the city tycoon is being investigated for alleged forgery of the kibanja agreement.

The investors called upon the government to address the conflicting letter from NFA. They concluded that as investors, they need to have confidence in their investments in the industrial park which is contributing to the economic growth of the country, and providing employment to thousands of Ugandans will not go to waste.

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