IN HOT SOUP! Lands Commissioner Mugaino Faces Fresh Arrest, Jail
Baker Mugaino
Lands Commissioner Baker Mugaino is staring at possible arrest and civil imprisonment after a Ugandan landowner dragged him back to court for allegedly defying a High Court order for more than eight months.
The fresh legal storm has been triggered by Richard Katongole, who accuses the Commissioner for Land Registration at the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development of deliberately refusing to implement a court order directing him to transfer ownership of land in Mukono District and issue a duplicate certificate of title.
Through M/S Lukwago & Co. Advocates, Katongole has filed a contempt of court application before the High Court Land Division in Kampala, seeking orders to have Mugaino arrested and committed to civil prison for allegedly disobeying lawful court directives.
The explosive matter is scheduled for hearing on July 7, 2026, at 2:30 p.m. before a judge in chambers.
Court records show that the dispute stems from Miscellaneous Cause No. 0051 of 2023, where Justice Nakiganda Ida on July 16, 2025 issued a vesting order directing the Commissioner for Land Registration to transfer approximately 2.2 acres of land comprised in Kyaggwe Block 255, Plot 27 at Lusera-Ntakafunvu in Kyabalogo Parish, Nakisunga Sub-County, Mukono District into the names of Richard Katongole.
The court further ordered the Commissioner to issue a duplicate certificate of title in Katongole’s favour.
However, according to an affidavit sworn by Katongole, the order was formally extracted, served and received by the Commissioner’s office on the very day it was issued. Despite receiving the order, Katongole says nothing has been done.
Frustrated by the silence, the landowner says he personally wrote to the Commissioner on July 16, 2025 requesting immediate implementation of the court directive.
When his efforts hit a dead end, he escalated the matter on September 10, 2025 by writing to the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, copying the Commissioner and seeking urgent intervention.
Even that, he says, yielded no action.
In court documents, Katongole argues that Mugaino has “disobeyed and/or defied” the court order for a period exceeding eight months, despite being fully aware of its existence and legal implications.
He contends that the Commissioner’s continued refusal to act is not only unlawful but also a direct attack on the authority and dignity of the High Court.
Katongole is now asking court to crack the whip by ordering Mugaino’s arrest and detention in civil prison for contempt of court. He also wants court to compel the Commissioner to immediately vest the land in his names and issue the duplicate certificate of title as ordered by Justice Nakiganda.
In the alternative, he wants the Commissioner slapped with a court-imposed fine, in addition to meeting the costs of the application.
The application is grounded under Section 37 of the Judicature Act, Sections 64(a), 64(e) and 98 of the Civil Procedure Act, as well as Order 41 Rules 2(3) and 9 of the Civil Procedure Rules.
The case has once again thrown the spotlight on Uganda’s land registration system and raised fresh questions about the willingness of government officials to implement court orders, even after citizens spend years battling through the justice system to secure their rights.
With the hearing now only weeks away, all eyes will be on the Land Division to see whether one of the country’s top land officials will be forced to answer for alleged defiance of a court order — and whether the threat of jail could become a reality.
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