Installations at the Njeru Stock Farm that Otafiire wants to evict
HABARI DAILY I Kampala, Uganda I “Compensate me or I will not move an inch,” Water and Environment Minister Major General Kahinda Otafiire has told the Government, warning that he will sue the state if it proceeds with plans to cancel his land titles covering portions of the disputed Njeru Stock Farm in Buikwe District.
The minister’s statement comes days after reports that six Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) soldiers deployed at the disputed farm were arrested following an operation reportedly ordered after President Yoweri Museveni was briefed on alleged evictions and occupation of parts of the farm.
This marks a dramatic escalation in the years-long battle over ownership of parts of the government-run livestock farm, following a recent Cabinet directive in which President Yoweri Museveni ordered the Attorney General and the Ministry of Lands to cancel all fraudulent land titles issued within the farm boundaries.
The minister, however, insists that his titles were legally acquired through a willing-buyer, willing-seller transaction and says the government has no lawful basis to revoke them.
Legal action
“If Government thinks it can simply cancel my titles, then we shall meet in court,” Otafiire has maintained, insisting that the state must either compensate him for his investment or allow him to retain ownership of the land.
At the heart of the dispute are Block 295, Plots 280 and 283 in Bukaya, formerly known as Plots 3 and 4. Otafiire argues that these parcels have never legally belonged to the Njeru Stock Farm because the government lost its interest after failing to honour lease obligations with the original private landlords.
According to the minister, the government’s lease expired after the Ministry of Agriculture failed to pay rent to the estate of Barbara Lakeri Nalubaale, daughter of the late Ham Mukasa, from whom the Protectorate Government had originally leased the land decades ago.
“Government defaulted”
He argues that following the government’s failure to renew the lease, the land lawfully reverted to private administrators, who later sold it to him.
Lt. Col. (Rtd) Bright Rwamirama (4th Right), the Minister of State for Agriculture, Animal Industry, and Fisheries (Animal Industry), touring the stock farm recently
Otafiire says he purchased the property from the late Fred Lukwajju and Christopher Lule, administrators of the estates of the late Enoka Sebowa and Guster Seruwo, after they obtained letters of administration and High Court orders in Jinja in 2011 authorising the creation of certificates of title.
“I have read with interest the several social media tweets and the recent article in the New Vision newspaper in respect to my ownership of land located in Njeru, Buikwe District,” Otafiire said in a statement released on Tuesday.
“There has been a deliberate drive to distort the facts and portray a specific narrative as I being a land grabber of the whole stock farm land.”
The minister insists that his ownership is supported by sale agreements, certificates of title and letters of administration, all of which he previously tabled before Parliament to demonstrate that the transaction was lawful.
He also rejected claims that he had grabbed the entire stock farm, saying he owns only a portion of land that was privately sold together with several other buyers.
25 companies now operational
According to Otafiire, the original owners disposed of approximately 640 acres to more than 25 companies and individuals, many of whom have since established factories and other developments on the land.
Among the companies he listed are Modern Titles Limited, Modern Laminates Limited, Modern Agro Industries Limited, Modern Organizers Limited, Kiira Plastics Limited, A-One Limited, PAO Products, Sino Glass Manufacturing Limited, Shreeji Glass (U) Limited, Seyani Brothers and Parie G Sweets Limited.
He also named Keshwala & Sons, businessman Mandala Mafabi, former Chief Justice Steven Kavuma, Livingston Lukabwe, Faisal Musiige, Musa Were, Stephen Kulyaige, Rajab Senfuka, Kalyan Pachani Kanji, Steven Mugga and Bujoingo Wilfred as individuals who purchased portions of the same land.
“What is further interesting is that all these companies and individuals have developed their parcels of land creating an industrial complex enjoying quiet possession on the land since 2018 and yet I have been intentionally singled out as the biggest land grabber just because my land is the easiest target of the stock farm management to use as a ploy to divert the truth about their occupation of the land,” Otafiire said.
He further maintains that the government stock farm occupies only former Plot 2, measuring about 190 acres, while his land lies entirely on former Plots 3 and 4.
“My land on Plots 3 and 4 has nothing to do with the former stock farm,” he said.
Minister reportedly supportive
Otafiire also cited what he described as earlier admissions by State Minister for Animal Industry Bright Rwamirama acknowledging that the stock farm had lost its legal interest in the disputed land after failing to pay rent.
“The Order of re-entry was confirmed by the High Court of Jinja following Ministry of Agriculture and the Stock Farm’s failure to pay the lease terms,” Otafiire said.
“The stock farm has since the 30th May 2026 removed their Nitrogen equipment, cows and furniture proving that the farm has no interest in the land.”
The minister questioned why the Ministry of Agriculture and stock farm management allegedly failed to pay rent from 2011 despite budgeting and withdrawing funds for that purpose.
“It is rather interesting why the stock farm management and Ministry of Agriculture have continuously cried foul and tried to claim that I am occupying former Plot 2 and yet in reality my land is situated on Plots 3 and 4,” he said.
Government agencies strongly dispute Otafiire’s interpretation.
The National Animal Genetic Resources Centre and Data Bank (NAGRC&DB), which manages the Njeru Stock Farm, maintains that the disputed land forms part of the farm’s historic 1,099-acre property that has remained under government occupation since the late 1940s and 1960s.
Fraudulently created titles
Supported by the Ministry of Agriculture, officials argue that the titles held by Otafiire and other private claimants were fraudulently created and should therefore be cancelled.
Investigators have also alleged that some of the ownership documents relied on forged court orders and forged judicial signatures, allegations that Otafiire has consistently rejected.
The dispute has created one of the most visible divisions within the executive, pitting Otafiire against Attorney General Kiryowa Kiwanuka and Agriculture Minister Bright Rwamirama. The veteran minister has accused the two officials of hypocrisy and misleading President Museveni about the true legal boundaries of the stock farm.
An investigation by the Inspector General of Government found that the land was originally leased by the Protectorate Government from the Ham Mukasa estate in 1948 before being subleased to the Ministry of Agriculture. The investigation documented years of unpaid ground rent, financial disputes and prolonged litigation that ultimately resulted in parts of the land reverting to private administrators before being sold to several private investors.
Before Cabinet ordered the cancellation of disputed titles, the dispute had already assumed enormous financial dimensions, with reports indicating that Otafiire demanded up to Shs76 billion in compensation or threatened to evict government operations from the land.
Defiant Otafiire
The farm remains strategically important to Uganda’s livestock sector because it hosts the country’s liquid nitrogen production facility, which supports artificial insemination and livestock breeding programmes across eastern Uganda.
Despite the government’s latest directive, Otafiire remains unyielding. He says he currently uses his portion of the land for goat farming and has occasionally fenced sections to prevent livestock theft.
With Cabinet determined to recover what it considers public land and Otafiire equally determined to defend what he describes as his lawfully acquired private property, the dispute now appears headed for another prolonged courtroom battle. Unless the government abandons its plan to revoke his titles or agrees to compensate him, the minister insists he “will not move an inch.”
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