BY AMPAIRE PATIENCE
LYANTONDE- Real Estate Developer, manufacturer, farmer and entrepreneur Ben Kavuya has given a 24 hours ultimatum to the Minister of State for Lands Hon Sam Mayanja to apologize to him and pay him Ugx 3 billion in compensation over defamation or else face the full arm of law at his own peril.
Ben Kavuya through his lawyers of Byenkya, Kihika & Co. Advocates issued a demand notice and a notice to sue the Minister Mayanja in a letter dated February 2nd 2024, for uttering false and defamatory words against his personality with the intention of reducing and demeaning his reputation among right thinking members of the society both local and international.
According to Kavuya, this comes after a meeting on February 2nd 2024 at a community held at Katovu Trading Center in Lwengo District; Minister Sam Mayanja made malicious statements against him which portrayed him as a land grabber and fraudster, who forcefully took over people’s land without following legitimate and requisite procedures.
It is reported that Minister Mayanja said, “Ben Kavuya has got money from here because you supported President Museveni to take over power, you supported NRM and it took over power. Now because he has got money he thinks he’ll come and mistreat you. I want to order now the DPC, RDC, to issue a warrant of arrest for him to come and answer to these issues of mistreating people and land grabbing” and added, “Ben Kavuya, has been known as the greatest land grabber and I want to inform you he is not the President of this country. Don’t call him Ben Kavuya the rich man. Call him Ben Kavuya, the land grabber (thief), because there is a difference between money and power.”
Although Minister Mayanja ordered the arrest of Ben Kavuya, the security officers didn’t heed to his directives and no further steps were taken to arrest him to date.
The Minister also ordered for the arrest of the NRM chairperson Lyantonde District Eria Ssewandigi and businessman Nuwarinda Robert for forcefully grabbing people’s land in Lwengo and Lyantonde Districts respectively.
When contacted Ben Kavuya said that the Minister’s false accusations have adversely affected his international and national reputation among his business partners who have expressed reservations in dealing with him.
Kavuya through his Lawyers of Byenkya, Kihika and Co. Advocates has since demanded a public apology and Ugx 3 billion as compensation from Minister Mayanja for allegedly damaging his name or else drag the Minister in Courts of Law.
The Land in question measuring 3.5 square miles is located in Lyantonde District at Katagengera A in Karambi Parish, Kaliro Subcounty which Kavuya purchased in 1994 from Banyarwanda Bibanja holders who made consent to sign for him in case he wanted a land title from the main title.
In 2004, Kavuya started formal procedures of acquiring a land title to his land in order to demarcate it from the title of the first land owners but the Lands Ministry declined his request and he went to the Land Tribunal and it was unanimously agreed that he be given his title.
Kavuya has also appealed to the President of Uganda Yoweri Kaguta Museveni to check the behavior and mannerism of Minister Mayanja because the country needs someone sober to handle land matters to desist causing turmoil to this country.
On the same note, Minister Sam Mayanja was asked to make a public apology and pay Ugx 2 billion to Nuwandinda Robert for exposing him to hatred and contempt among the right thinking members of society in his community.
Nuwandida said the Minister uttered false words and incited the public against him with intention of demeaning his reputation and destroying property on his land
Through the same lawyers of Byenkya, Kihika & Co. Advocates, Nuwandinda said the Ministers false statements were intended to injure his reputation because his land measuring to 40 acres at Katovu Tranding Center was also vandalized by the people who gathered following the Ministers’ instructions and he is liable for the malicious damage to his property and injuries occasioned to his labourers where he lost over 80 cows from his farm as reported at the area Police Station.
There allegations with the community that Kavuya, Nuwandinda and other tycoons dealing in real estate development in Lyantonde District are using the office of the Resident District Commissioner (RDC) to forcefully evict tenants from their land to establish cattle ranches
However, the Lyantonde Resident District Commissioner Mbetegyereize Godfrey said he is not aware of any connivance by his office to either support land grabbing or false imprisonment of members of the community because of land related matters but claimed that the Lyantonde and the neighboring District Lwengo are full of politics of hate and blackmail.
Efforts to contact Minister Sam Mayanja over this particular matter were faultless as he had not responded to the demand notice cum notice to sue him about his defamatory statements and demand of billions in compensation with public apologies from the Lawyers.
