A disagreement has emerged between Luweero town council and district authorities over the ownership of Kasana playground. In 2021, Luweero district took over ownership and management of Kasana playground from Luweero town council. The playground is located in Kavule zone, Luweero town council.
However, in February 2023 the Town Clerk of Luweero town council wrote to the Solicitor General challenging the takeover and sought an opinion on the matter.
In the letter, the town clerk stated that the town council had the playground for 25 years and they applied for a lease from Buganda Land Board in 2001 which owns the land.
They added that they had injected over sh200m from its local revenue for the development of the playground.
As a result, on 22nd February 2024, JBR Suuza on behalf of the Solicitor General wrote to Town Clerk Lydia Nabaasa stating that the town council has an equitable interest in the playground after being in possession for 25 years.
The Solicitor General also noted that the council also had the right to apply for a lease from Buganda Land Board which can consent to the application of the same terms and conditions agreed upon.
Upon receiving the opinion, the town clerk wrote to Luweero District Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) communicating the Solicitor General’s opinion to him and asking him to hand over the playground to the town council.
On April 4th, 2024 Chris Buwembo the Luweero town council issued a statement ordering all event managers to stop paying fees to the district to host their activities and instead do so through the town council.
Buwembo added that the district move was intended to grab part of the land at the playground which they condemn and will stop through the repossession of the facility.
However, on Wednesday Erastus Kibirango the Luweero district chairman asked the town council to refrain from misleading the residents till an appeal to the Solicitor General is handled.
Kibirango explained that the Solicitor General erred in issuing a legal opinion without listening to the district side which was in possession from 1975 to 2001 when the town registered its interest in the land.
Kibirango added that the district has also passed a budget of sh100m to redevelop the playground for the benefit of the public.
He added that the CAO has already written to Town Clerk Lydia Nabaasa informing her about the petition to the Solicitor General and they shouldn’t repossess the playground till the matter is handled.
Kibirango also accused officials at Luweero town council of being used by other agents to grab the remaining part of the land at the playground.
Last year, a section of veterans also emerged with the land title of 0.475 hectares comprising part of the land gazette for the parking yard of the playground.
The veterans under Luweero United Heroes Development Association donated part of the land to NRM party to construct offices but the move attracted protests from district leaders accusing them of obtaining it through fraudulent transactions.
The NRM secretariat rejected the offer over the concerns and opted for land elsewhere.
*Source – URN*