A 16-year legal battle over ownership of more than 72 hectares of land in Kinyamakende, Kabarole District, has ended with the High Court in Fort Portal dismissing a suit filed by the Registered Trustees of Fort Portal Diocese against the Attorney General and businessman George Mwesige Sharp. In a judgment delivered on Wednesday, Justice Vincent Wagona ruled that the Diocese failed to prove it held a valid and indefeasible title to Burahya Block 44 Plot 9 and upheld the transfer of the land to George Mwesige Sharp as lawful.
The disputed land, measuring 72.95 hectares, had been valued by the Diocese at 5.4 billion shillings. The Diocese sued the Attorney General and Sharp in 2010, accusing the Registrar of Titles of fraudulently cancelling its certificate of title and transferring the land to Sharp, who later sold it to businessman Robert Kayonjo. Court records show that the Diocese claimed it purchased the land in October 1993 from six beneficiaries of the estate of the late Eliphaz Buchekenyu Ochaki.
The Church argued that it lawfully acquired title to the land, took possession, and used it for wheat and sim-sim farming until 2005, when it discovered Kayonjo developing the property. The Diocese further contended that its title had been cancelled without notice or a hearing following consequential orders arising from High Court Civil Suit No. 208 of 1995. However, the Attorney General and Sharp argued that the Diocese’s title originated from an unlawful distribution of the deceased’s estate by the Administrator General.
According to court evidence, Sharp had successfully challenged the Administrator General’s handling of the estate in earlier proceedings before the High Court and Court of Appeal. Those courts ruled that the estate had already been distributed under Toro customary law and that the Administrator General acted without lawful authority. In his judgment, Justice Wagona said the previous court decisions effectively nullified all transactions arising from the Administrator General’s distribution, including the Diocese’s purchase.
“It is a settled principle of law that where the root of title is impeached, all derivative titles fall with it. One cannot build a valid title on an invalid foundation,” Justice Wagona ruled. The judge further held that although the Diocese produced a certificate of title in court, its evidential value was weakened because the land registry records did not reflect the Diocese as the registered proprietor.
The court accepted testimony from Senior Registrar of Titles Milton Matsiko, who stated that official records showed no registration of the Diocese on the suit land. Justice Wagona also ruled that the Registrar of Titles acted lawfully in implementing the consequential court orders that directed cancellation of the Administrator General’s interests and substitution with Sharp’s name.
“The Registrar had no option but to implement the order. The Registrar had no jurisdiction to question, interpret, or limit the scope of that order,” the judge stated. Although the court acknowledged that the Diocese had not been notified before the transfer was effected, Justice Wagona held that the omission did not invalidate implementation of a lawful court order. The Diocese had sought compensation equivalent to the current market value of the land, one billion shillings in general damages, special damages, and interest at 25 percent per annum.
However, the judge rejected all claims, holding that compensation could not be granted where the claimant’s interest was founded on a title declared void by law. The court also dismissed Sharp’s counterclaim for damages, noting that no substantive evidence had been presented to support it. Justice Wagona ordered the Diocese to pay the costs of the suit to the Attorney General, while Sharp was directed to bear his own costs-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
