E-M plaza owner Ephraim Ntaganda is yet again in another land dispute with city authorities.
News reaching our desk reveals that Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) physical planner, Peter Kiggundu has stopped Ntaganda from developing a stretch of land in the upscale Kololo neighbourhood that is blocking another access road in the area.
He was last month given 28 days to demolish the fence or Police which has already been notified steps in.
KCCA claims the disputed land on Plot 1, Makindu Close next to the auspicious Golf Course Hotel was fraudulently acquired but what raised a red flag were protests from National Water and Sewerage Corporation that the tycoon had erected a fence around the plot encroaching on their sewer pipe 300’.
Controversially, Ntaganda is still occupying the property yet in 2012 he lost a High Court case in which the his 49-year lease from Kampala District Land Board was challenged by a flower investor, Kimal Lodhia. Justice Percy Night Tuhaise placed a permanent injunction blocking Ntaganda from interfering with the land but nonetheless he did.
Ntaganda who reportedly splashed close to 1.4bn on his wedding two years ago is one of the tycoons that recently tried to extract billions of shillings from President Museveni’s government in a flopped bailout deal.
A couple of months, the tycoon was quizzed over defrauding Uganda National Roads Authority of sh2 billion with a fake land title of a swamp. His shell company, Excellent Assorted Manufacturers Ltd situated in Busega claimed Shs 2bn from UNRA for 8.5 acres swamp land which was affected by the construction of Kampala-Entebbe Express Highway.
Ntaganda’s asset value is estimated to be sh49.5 billion but is choking on a loan of sh14.85 billion, according to government bailout data.
