Uganda court orders land commission to issue title for Kabale government house
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The High Court in Kabale has ordered the Uganda Land Commission to hand over a certificate of title for a government house to the estate of a buyer who paid the full purchase price.
The High Court in Kabale has ordered the Uganda Land Commission to complete the processing of, and hand over, a certificate of title for a government house in Kabale to the administrators of the estate of the late Martha Bekiita, New Vision reported.
Justice Karoli Lwanga Ssemogerere ruled that Bekiita had paid the full sh7 million purchase price for the house and was entitled to the property. The judge also ruled that if the government wants to take the property for use by Kabale Regional Hospital, the administrators of Bekiita's estate must first be compensated in accordance with the Constitution.
The judgment arose from a long-running dispute over Plot 1B Buningo Road in Kabale, which was initially allocated to Bekiita and Rugwisa as a former government pool house, a category of housing allocated to public servants under the government housing scheme. On March 23, 1995, the property was allocated to the pair by the Public Service Sale House Committee of the Uganda Land Commission in conjunction with Housing Finance Company of Uganda, and on September 15, 1995 Bekiita deposited sh500,000, representing 8 per cent of the purchase price, in accordance with the terms of sale.
In February 1996, the Sale Committee wrote to the Kabale chief administrative officer seeking clarification on whether the property was a government pool house or an institutional house belonging to Kabale Regional Hospital. The CAO responded that the property was outside the hospital land and had been constructed before the hospital, and the committee subsequently instructed the Commissioner for Surveys and Mapping to survey the plot, which was done. On July 12, 2001, however, the Uganda Land Commission withdrew the offer and authorised a refund of the money Bekiita had paid.
According to the judgment, Bekiita and her successors challenged the withdrawal, maintaining that she was entitled to the property after complying with the terms of sale. After a public notice published in New Vision on August 31, 2006 notifying public servants who had benefited from the sale of government pool houses but had not completed payment that their houses would be resold, Bekiita paid the outstanding balance, bringing the total paid for the property to sh7 million. Housing Finance Bank confirmed the full payment to the secretary of the Uganda Land Commission on August 28, 2007, and on October 22, 2007 the secretary instructed the Commissioner for Surveys and Mapping to prepare deed plans in Bekiita's favour.
On February 7, 2008, the medical superintendent of Kabale Hospital wrote to Bekiita informing her that the property belonged to Kabale Regional Hospital. Bekiita subsequently sued the Attorney General and the Uganda Land Commission, seeking specific performance or, alternatively, compensation for the house, general damages, exemplary damages and costs. In their defence, the Attorney General's office stated that the house sold to Bekiita was an institutional house and that the offer had been withdrawn by the Uganda Land Commission.