Two senior police officers have been condemned by the High Court over their alleged involvement in the forceful entry onto contested land and an attempted eviction carried out despite an existing court order preserving the status quo.
Assistant Registrar Samuel Moses Kagoda of the High Court’s Land Division criticized Commissioner of Police James Kusemererwa, head of the Land Protection Unit, and Superintendent of Police Sam Suubi, the Kira Road Division Police Commander.
The two officers were jointly cited alongside Justine Lusiya Nabuuma, Imran Turyagyenda, Yusuf Semugabi, and Denis Mugabo, also known as Kiryewala.
The court found that an injunction issued on March 16, 2021, required all parties to maintain the status quo over the disputed land pending the determination of the main suit. Under the order, MKS Limited was to remain in physical possession of the property while the registered title remained in the name of the second respondent.
According to the ruling delivered on July 23, 2026, MKS Limited presented evidence showing that on June 8, 2026, the respondents allegedly entered the property armed with hammers, firearms, and a crane, and attempted to evict the company’s tenant, Hardware World Limited, in violation of the court order.
“From the evidence, the applicant (MKS Limited) has demonstrated that the order exists and despite the existence of the order, the respondents on June 8, 2026, at 7:00 a.m., and armed with hammers, guns and a crane, forcefully entered the suit land and attempted to evict the tenant (Hardware World Limited) of the applicant, thereby wilfully disobeying the said order,” the court ruled.
The disputed property comprises Kyadondo Block 276, Plot 4992 at Buye, where the court had ordered that MKS Limited remain in physical possession until the main case is resolved.
Although the court criticized the conduct of the two police officers, it declined to punish them for contempt because they were not parties to the main suit from which the contempt proceedings arose.
The court also declined to sanction Imran Turyagyenda, Yusuf Semugabi, and Denis Mugabo.
However, the court found Justine Lusiya Nabuuma, an administrator of the estate of the late John Bosco Mubiru, to be in contempt of court.
Assistant Registrar Kagoda ordered Nabuuma to pay Shs10 million to the court within one month or face six months’ civil imprisonment in default. She was also ordered to pay another Shs10 million to MKS Limited within the same period, with a similar default penalty of six months’ civil imprisonment. In addition, she was directed to meet the legal costs incurred by MKS Limited in pursuing the contempt application.
Background to the Dispute
The contempt proceedings arose from an application filed by MKS Limited, through R. Mackay Advocates, seeking declarations that the respondents had breached the court’s March 2021 injunction.
Court records show that the land dispute dates back to 2020, when MKS Limited sued the Commissioner for Land Registration after discovering that its land title had allegedly been cancelled and interests over the property registered in favour of Nabuuma.
The suit also names Abdu Shakur Nsubuga and Federesi Nandawula as defendants.
According to the company, the Commissioner for Land Registration reinstated Plot 2500 and later subdivided it into Plots 4991 and 4993, creating an overlap with MKS Limited’s former Plot 4478, which the company says is now represented by portions falling within Plots 4991, 4992, and 4993.
In the main suit, MKS Limited is seeking declarations that the cancellation of its land title was unlawful, cancellation of Nabuuma’s registration as proprietor of the disputed land, reinstatement of the company as the registered owner, and a declaration that it is a bona fide purchaser for value without notice of fraud.
