Lawyers and family members of the late Dr. Muhammad Buwule Kasasa have dismissed reports circulating on local news websites claiming that the Supreme Court upheld the controversial settlement agreement regarding his multibillion Mutungo Hill land.
Jabaru Luyima, one of the lawyers representing aggrieved family members and two of Dr. Kasasa’s estate administrators—Moses Kanyike Kasasa and Anwar Sempira Kasasa—clarified that only two applications were withdrawn from court, and that this has no impact on the main case.
“It is unfortunate that some individuals involved in this matter have resorted to misleading the public. They know very well that their settlement agreement cannot stand in a court of law. We remain focused on fighting for Dr. Kasasa’s wishes after his death,” Luyima said.
Luyima explained that after filing the main application challenging former Chief Justice Owiny-Dollo’s settlement agreement—which allegedly gave the family of Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi a stake in Dr. Kasasa’s estate—the legal team also filed applications for interim and temporary stay of execution.
He noted that, given the sensitivity of the matter and the prominence of individuals involved, the team sought court orders to halt the implementation of Justice Dollo’s settlement.
However, when the matter came before the Supreme Court, a panel of five justices led by Justice Percy Night Tuhaise, alongside Justices Christopher Madrama, Catherine Bamugemereire, Mike Chibita, and Monica Mugenyi, advised that the settlement agreement being challenged had not yet been formally registered in the court record. As such, no orders could be issued regarding it at that stage.
Luyima said that, in order to save time and enable beneficiaries—including school-going children—to access justice more quickly, the legal team, through family lawyer Simon Kizza, opted to withdraw the interim applications so the court could focus on the main application seeking to set aside Justice Dollo’s settlement.
Lawyers working under senior counsel Mwesigwa Rukutana, the former Attorney General, confirmed that the majority of Dr. Kasasa’s children—led by his daughter Dr. Nulu Nakabonge Kasasa—remain united in their efforts to protect their father’s estate from what they describe as unlawful claims.
The dispute stems from mediation initiated in 2025 by Justice Dollo involving some of Dr. Kasasa’s children, including Sophie Nambalirwa Kasasa (the heir), Sarah Nabuwule Kasasa, Janet Nakawunde Kasasa, and Issa Kasasa, along with administrators of the estate of Sir Edward Walugembe Mutesa. These include Dorothy Nalinnya Nasolo, Nalinnya Sarah Kagere, Prince David Kintu Wasajja, and the Attorney General, Kiryowa Kiwanuka.
Dr. Nakabonge, who was close to her father, has consistently opposed the mediation process. She argues that it violates Clause 4.4 of her father’s will, which requires that all major decisions regarding the estate be approved by family advisors Juliet Nakato and Dr. Sam Mayanja, the State Minister for Lands.
Her position is supported by a letter dated October 27, 2025, in which Dr. Mayanja expressed concern over the proposed settlement. He questioned why Dr. Kasasa’s estate should surrender half of the Mutungo Hill land—measuring one square mile—as compensation to the Mutesa estate, despite having successfully defended ownership in court and secured formal government recognition.
According to court filings, the applicants attended mediation on September 24, 2025, under protest, arguing that they were being sidelined in key negotiations.
“Our objection was not to mediation itself, but to the exclusion from substantive decision-making. The same draft agreement presented during mediation was later signed despite our protest,” part of the submission reads.
Court documents indicate that Dr. Kasasa acquired the Mutungo Hill land in 1978 and was recognized by the Court of Appeal as a bona fide purchaser. The Government of Uganda later entered into a compensation agreement worth Shs26.4 billion for the same land.
The applicants argue that the administrators of the Mutesa estate have not provided sufficient legal or moral justification for surrendering half of the land.
“Litigation fatigue is not a valid reason to give away assets worth tens of billions of shillings,” the court documents state.
Records further show that Dr. Kasasa purchased the land from Barclays Bank (now Absa Bank) after it had changed hands multiple times. Originally owned by Mutesa, the land was transferred to businessman Benjamin Kwemalamala, who mortgaged it. It was later registered under Victoria Properties Limited, which defaulted on its loan, prompting the bank to sell the property to recover its funds. Dr. Kasasa subsequently acquired the land through this process.
