Late Mulwana Loses Land Case

High Court in Kampala on Thursday delivered its ruling in the case in which the late James Mulwana was accused of fraudulently acquiring a piece of land in the city.

The land measuring 0.75 acres belonged to Rehema Namuli, the widow of the late Buganda loyalist and Kabaka Edward Muteesa’s friend, Daudi Ochieng.

Barely a month after Mulwana, one of Uganda’s most successful industrialists, died on January 15, court has ruled in favour Namuli.

Justice Percy Tuhaise of the Land Division ruled that Namuli had satisfactorily convinced court that her land title was dubiously changed without her knowledge. Further in her judgment, Justice Tuhaise ordered that the property and the land title be returned to the Namuli.

The matter arose on August 19, 2004, when Namuli Ochieng, then aged 60, accused the late Mulwana of illegally acquiring the ownership of her land on Block 243, plot 786 in Kitintale, Kampala.

Court documents showed that Namuli acquired the property on June 26, 1971.

When the matter came up for hearing last year, Namuli in her testimony narrated to court that her woes started in December 2002, when she borrowed 30 million shillings from Mulwana to service a loan. She said she handed him her land title to act as security.

She stated that they consented that she would refund Mulwana’s money after three months in exchange for her title.

Namuli claimed that, to her dismay, when she returned the money, a month after borrowing it and two months before the repayment deadline elapsed; Mulwana declined taking it saying he had already sold the prime land.

But in his testimony, Mulwana absolved himself of any wrong doing and branded Namuli a dishonest person.

The judge also ordered that Namuli be paid lost revenue for 10 years that she was supposed to earn from her rental units.

Court documents show that she used to collect 1.04 million shillings monthly as rent from her property before it was taken away.

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