The administration of Mulago National Referral Hospital has renewed a long-standing land dispute with Makerere University, seeking the cancellation of a land title held by the university over property located in Katanga, near Wandegeya.
In the latest contest between the two government institutions, Mulago Hospital, led by Executive Director Dr. Rosemary Byanyima, alleges that Makerere University fraudulently acquired the title to the contested land.
“A public hearing for the cancellation of the certificate of title was held on August 8, 2025, during which your office (the Attorney General) was represented. At this hearing, the hospital presented its case and justified the need to cancel Certificate of Title FRV 202/6, particularly Plots 40–42, which were issued to Makerere University in error,” reads part of a letter from Mulago Hospital.
According to Dr. Byanyima, the hospital first petitioned the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development in June 2025, requesting cancellation of the title. The letter was also copied to the office of then Attorney General Kiryowa Kiwanuka, but no action was taken.
The renewed complaint comes more than a decade after the High Court ruled on ownership claims over the Katanga Valley land.
In 2015, the High Court declared four family members and their licensees bona fide occupants of the land and entitled by law to remain in possession. The beneficiaries were Jonathan Yosamu Masembe, Bulasio Buyisi, George Kalimu, and Samalie Nambogga, who had challenged Makerere University and the Commissioner for Land Registration over attempts to cancel their land titles.
The court, however, also recognized Makerere University as the registered proprietor of the disputed land.
In his ruling, then High Court Land Division Judge Alphonse Owiny-Dollo cited provisions of the 1998 Land Act, which require an occupant claiming bona fide occupancy rights to prove uninterrupted possession of the land for at least 12 years without challenge.
“While the plaintiffs are protected by law as bona fide occupants and are entitled to continue enjoying their occupation, I have found that they have been in uninterrupted occupation of the suit land and are therefore protected by law from eviction,” the judge ruled.
Dissatisfied with parts of the judgment, Makerere University filed an appeal, which remains pending before the courts.
Court records indicate that the disputed Katanga land covers three zones spread across approximately 37 acres, currently occupied by the complainants and their licensees. However, Makerere University maintains that it owns 277 acres of land in the area, a claim that appears to exceed the 10.315 hectares reflected on the title currently in its possession.
