Five Supreme Court justices, led by Justice Percy Night Tuhaise, alongside Justices Christopher Madrama, Catherine Bamugemereire, Mike Chibita, and Monica Mugenyi, are reviewing a settlement agreement mediated by former Chief Justice Owiny-Dollo concerning the multibillion-shilling estate of Dr. Muhammad Buwule Kasasa.
The review follows an application filed by some of Dr. Kasasa’s children, led by Moses Kanyike Kasasa and Anwar Sempira Kasasa. Through their lawyers, led by Senior Counsel Mwesigwa Rukutana (former Attorney General) and Simon Kizza, they are challenging the settlement reached between some of their siblings and the administrators of the estate of Sir Edward Mutesa, the former Kabaka of Buganda.
In their application, the applicants argue that Justice Dollo’s Mediation Settlement Agreement dated January 14, 2026, is null and void, claiming it violates the mandatory testamentary instructions of their late father.
In their affidavits, they contend that the agreement contravenes Dr. Kasasa’s will—particularly Clause 4.4—which requires that all major decisions regarding the estate must involve consultation with, and approval from, family advisors Juliet Nakato and Dr. Sam Mayanja, a senior lawyer and State Minister for Lands.
“To suggest otherwise would be to amend the will by judicial decree, which this Court cannot do. It is upon this background that the applicants filed this application to have the mediation settlement agreement set aside. The preliminary objection is thus misconceived, as it goes into the merits of the application while being disguised as a preliminary objection,” the applicants state in part.
Court documents indicate that Dr. Mayanja opposed the terms of the settlement agreement and sought further clarification before it was signed, but his concerns were allegedly ignored and the deal finalized.
In a letter dated October 27, 2025, addressed to Dr. Kasasa’s heirs and estate administrators, Dr. Mayanja expressed disapproval of the proposed terms. He questioned why the estate would surrender half of its Mutungo Hill land—measuring one square mile—and compensate the Mutesa estate, despite having successfully defended its ownership in court and having its proprietary rights formally recognized by the government.
Documents further indicate that the settlement agreement has not yet been adopted as a consent judgment. The applicants argue that the Supreme Court retains the inherent jurisdiction to reject the agreement in its entirety and declare it illegal.
The applicants also told the court that they attended mediation proceedings on September 24, 2025, under protest, raising concerns that they were being sidelined.
“Their objection was not to mediation per se, but to the fact that substantive terms were being negotiated without their input. The same draft settlement agreement shared during mediation is the one that was eventually signed, despite their protest,” the documents state.
According to court records, Dr. Kasasa acquired the disputed Mutungo Hill land in 1978 and was later recognized by the Court of Appeal as a bona fide purchaser for value. The Government of Uganda also entered into a Shs26.4 billion compensation agreement in respect of the same land.
“The 1st to 4th respondents have not provided any legal or moral justification for surrendering half of this land. Their rationale of ‘litigation fatigue’ is not a valid ground to give away assets worth tens of billions of shillings,” the applicants argue.
However, administrators of the Mutesa estate—including Nalinnya Dorothy Nasolo, Nalinnya Sarah Kagere, and Prince David Kintu Wasajja, siblings of Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi—maintain that Dr. Kasasa fraudulently acquired the land.
Documents further state that Dr. Kasasa purchased the land from Barclays Bank (now Absa). Prior to that, the land had been transferred from Mutesa to Benjamin Kwemalamala, a prominent businessman in Masaka, who later mortgaged it and registered it under Victoria Properties Limited.
