High court judge Peter Henry Adonyo, the presiding judge in the famous Male Mabirizi Kiwanuka, a Buganda subject vs the Kabaka (king) of Buganda Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II has advised both parties to sit down and settle their case concerning the true ownership of the Buganda land, out of court.
The judge said that it is ashaming to the dignity of Buganda and Uganda at large for a subject to take his king to court. “I beg you people to sit down and sort out some of these issues, there is nothing difficulty in sitting down because these issues are very simple and easy. Mr. Mabirizi and counsel Ssawa (who represented the Kabaka), how do you see it? It’s shaming you people, I’m telling you,” Adonyo advised.
In response, Robert Ssawa Ssenabulya, one of the lawyers representing the Kabaka said that for them as the legal team representing the Kabaka, they can’t sit down to discuss legal issues with Mabirizi. Ssawa argued that they don’t have Mabirizi in their documents of people who sit or own land on Kabaka’s land.
“Now on which ground does he base on to go to court my lord? He has a bad case, just advise him to withdrawal his bad case from court,” Ssawa said.
Mabirizi laughed loudly at Ssawa saying that, “you people of Mengo are proud, you think that you owner Buganda and Baganda. Ok, let’s see who will laugh at the end of the case. Maybe Mr. Ssawa my lord has never heard of a scenario where a boda boda guy fellow in love with powerful rich men of this country. The boda boda guy impregnated a wife to one of the tycoons, now who is more ashamed? You wait, you will see your pregnancy very soon,” Mabirizi said.
Adonyo’s remarks come on the heels of rumours around Mengo establishment that the Kabaka is looking for Mabirizi to settle the case out of court A source from Mengo revealed to us that the Kabaka tasked one of his former premiers Dan Muliika to look for Mabirizi and bring him for a meeting.
“The Kabaka first sent Kiwalabye Male, the Buganda Land Board boss, to bring to him Mabirizi. He (Kabaka) was thinking that it will be easy for Kiwalabye to convince Mabirizi since both of them are from the same Kkobe clan. Mabirizi turn down the royal invitation saying Kiwalabye just wanted to use the opportunity to ashame him before the public that he was given money and he withdrew his case,” a senior minister at Mengo revealed to this website.
Court orders Kabaka to pay Mabirizi Ushs 10 billion
On Friday, justice Adonyo allowed Mabirizi to go to the execution and bailiffs’ division of the High Court and submit his 10 billion shillings award for costs to be taxed. Adonyo ruled that it was Illegal for the High Court registry Sarah Langa to rule that Mabirizi did not deserve to be given costs.
Adonyo ruled that Langa showed biasness immediately when the file for taxing Mabirizi’s costs was allocated to her. He stated that it’s not allowed in the judicial officer’s code of conduct for a judicial officer to excuse him or herself from the case and again bounce back in some case and make a ruling like her worship Langa did.
Adonyo also rubbished Langa’s claim that she was ordered by her boss the principle judge Yolokam Bamwine to get back to the case, hear it and resolve it immediately.
It should be remembered that Langa had previously ruled that Mabirizi did not deserve any costs. Before Langa’s ruling, Justice Basaaza had awarded Mabirizi costs after the Kabaka refused to disclose documentary evidence which Mabirizi had asked for to use as evidence in his case. Among the documents which the Kabaka was supposed to give Mabirizi included all land titles returned to Buganda by the central government, all the land titles which are related to Buganda land which the Kabaka keeps in truest, all the bank accounts on which people on Kabaka’s land deposit their rents, the identities of people on the Kabaka’s land and others.
However, the judge refused Mabirizi to proceed with his case by relying on grounds that he was prosecuting it on the behalf on the poor Baganda on the Kabaka’s land.
The judge said that Mabirizi didn’t bring convincing evidence to show that he was instructed by the Baganda to drag the Kabaka to court. Mabirizi wants court to declare that Kabaka Mutebi is not the owner of all Buganda land but he is just a truest keeping the land on the behalf of Baganda.
He also wants court to declare that: its illegal for Buganda Land Board to collect rent, give leases (kyapa mungalo) to baganda saying that they are the owners of the land, return all the money collected by Kabaka from Baganda who are sitting on Kabaka’s land.
The case is still on going..
