Jinja city lawyer Muzusa faces arrest over custodian board properties

By Nathan Ngobi

Jinja city famous lawyer Steven Muzusa is in trouble and faces arrest following a directive from President Yoweri Museveni to arrest and prosecute whoever fraudulently takes over properties of the Departed Asians which is now under the Government organ of the Departed Asian property Custodian Board (DAPCB).

 Learned friend Steven Muzusa falls cooler prey any time after accusing finger points at him for pocking his hand to grab a house on plot 1C Iganga road in Jinja City.

The property with a land title acquired in 1924 was formerly owned by Jayantilal Govindji Kotecha, Jayendra Govindji Kotecha, Rasik Govindji Kotecha and Ramesh Govindji Kotecha all Asians who had equal shares at the time of expropriation in 1972.

However they failed to return to Uganda to repossess their property as required by the law and the Government went ahead and compensated the Asians, according to officials from the Custodian board.

It is alleged that lawyer Muzusa Steven  reportedly fronted a one  Vijay Amritlal Kotecha  whose signatures and travel documents contradicts  and was not a relative or rather owner of the property  but got another land title on the same property  “special land title” from  lands ministry to claim ownership of the property.

President Museveni in March this year directed officers of the departed Asian property custodian board to take action of fraudulent members of the public who risked forging documents to take Government properties for free under their docket.

 Accusing fingers at Muzusa!

Fauza Kalembe is the official and known tenant whom custodian board gave a temporally allocation in 2020 after staying in house with her mother Tabandika Loy.

According to Fauza Kalembe, they were left in the property in 1998  by her late brother Dhabuliwo Hussein who died in the UK after he had occupied the house since  1972.

She narrates that later  she was allocated the property by the authorities of the departed Asians property custodian board (DAPCB) and started paying rent to the Government.

However, shockingly Muzusa Steven came with fake documents claiming for the property. He dragged Fauza Kalembe to court over the ownership of the property and lost, he appealed and lost again but resorted to illegal eviction and demolition without following the law.

He reportedly comes at night with thugs like he did on 15^th June 2022 when he ambushed the occupants and his thugs beat up people looted property and took off disguising it as an eviction which was not served to us. Narrated Kalembe.

Ndere Haruna, one of the tenant at the property who sustained injuries inflicted on him by Muzusa and group told this media house that he saw Muzusa himself in company commanding the thugs to break the house at night but they were repulsed by locals who teamed up against them.

“They beat me up in the presence of Muzusa, grabbed my property and threw away my one year old child after grabbing her beddings” Said Ndere Haruna.

He said that the second time Muzusa came with a grader vehicle to break the house after he allegedly got a demolition certificate from Jinja city council but was also repulsed by a mob and locals who had threatened to set fire on the grader.

Muzusa failed to offload the grader and just took off.

Custodian board Hirome speaks out!!!

Hirome Sabehe Mayanja a member of the divestiture committee of custodian board who visited Jinja city over the matter vowed to arrest Muzusa should he go ahead and risk to fraudulently acquire properties of the custodian board.

Hirome  Mayanja  after discussing the matters with Jinja city RCC Saleh Kamba  went  in company of the city deputy mayor  Fazira Kawuma  and stormed the office of the deputy town clerk  Peter Mawerere demanding an explanation as to why they signed a demolition certificate on properties of the custodian board without consulting the rightful owner.

Peter Mawerere later after a bitter exchange in his office where they never allowed the press apologized and consoled out the demolition letter.

“Am sorry Muzusa came here with a land title over the same property and we thought it was his but we now cross out his demolition certificate and we shall always consult because Jinja has over 200 properties of the departed Asians” Peter Mawerere pointed out.

This was after charged Hirome Mayanja educated the deputy town clerk Peter Mawerere that a demolition or rather an eviction order must be given and approved by security including locals council LC1 officials, neighbors and served to the occupants earlier while must be done during day time to protect the other occupants and neighbors at the property not during night hours.

However this particular one Muzusa has no legal nexicious to evict or demolish a property that belongs to the custodian board.

He said that the property in question plot 1C Iganga road belongs to the custodian board and the rightful tenant who was allocated the property and paying upto date rent is Fauza Kalembe.

He said that the property was already valued and soon the Government will officially sell it to Fauza Kalembe after authorization by the finance minister Matia Kasaija.

 Meanwhile the chairperson security and Jinja RCC Saleh Kamba said that the status quo remains as DAPCB officially writes to him a current report about the controversial property plot 1C Iganga road.

DAPCB report on the same property in 2020!!!

Following court battles by then, on 17^th June 2020 the DAPCB chairman (now workers MP) Abdulhu Byakatonda wrote to the finance minister Matia Kasaija  over the same plot 1C Iganga road Jinja city.

According to the report  Byakatonda said they had reviewed all records at DAPCB and discovered that the property was owned by Jayantilal Govindji Kotecha, Jayendra Govindji Kotecha, Rasik Govindji Kotecha and Ramesh Govindji Kotecha  not Vijay Amritlal Kotecha who claims it now.

According to records the process of repossession was conducted by Vijay Amritlal Kotecha using purported powers of attorney from registered proprietors on different dates.

“The person who conducted the repossession is doubted , the very individual is the current registered proprietor , his involvement and subsequent registration need to be investigated, however he submitted his documentations and an issue arose as regards the passport attached No.BO887551 that is subject for investigations by immigration and passport office, while in conclusion the former registered owners never physically returned as per the law  expropriated Act Cap 87, the process of repossession is suspect and never concluded , there was no certificate of repossession issued or registered on the certificate of title.The compounded  effect of this is that property reverted back to Government under the departed Asian Property Custodian Board” read parts of the report to the finance minister.

 State House Ant corruption to intervene!!!.

A senior official from the state house Ant Corruption Unit (SHACU) told this media house that they got a report from Jinja city about Muzusa and some officials from Jinja city authority and soon they will raid the place and clean up those culprits.

Muzusa speaks out!!!

Howver when we contacted Muzusa about the matter he said that the property belongs to Kotecha not him, but he admitted that he is Kotecha’s lawyer.

“I have never been party to any demolition or present at the property .the property is for Kotecha the registered proprietor and am his lawyer , Secondly those are temporary allocations cannot stand where a title is , that is all I can say” Muzusa texted to this media house in response to the accusations.