Logistics Company Sues NFA, Commission Land Registration

Liberty ICD Limited, a logistics firm has petitioned the High court Land Division to block the cancellation of their title for plot 1425 block 113 Kyaggwe in Kkolo Nantabulirwa Parish in Goma Sub-county in Mukono district. In their suit against the National Forestry Authority-NFA and Commissioner Land Registration, the applicants insist that the contested land is not part of Namanve Central Forest Reserve.

They accuse NFA of ordering the cancellation of their title on grounds that the suit land is part of Namanve Central Forest Reserve, a claim the firm says is false. The evidence before the court shows that Liberty ICD is the registered proprietor of the land comprised of plot 1425 block 113 Kyaggwe, which they acquired from Wycliff Kawalya. The company claims that prior to the purchase of the land, they conducted a search and established that the land was indeed registered in Kawalya’s name and didnt have any encumbrances.

"The plaintiff further through its agents did due diligence and conducted a physical search with the assistance of surveyors and found out that the land existed on the ground and the same had no third parties," reads the application. They however say that they were shocked when the Commissioner of Land Registration wrote to them contesting the certificate of title of plot 1425 Block 113 at Kolo Nantabulirwam, saying that it was issued in disregard of the right procedure and without consent from NFA.  

The applicants note that the same letter notified them about a decision to cancel the land title on grounds it was fraudulently and erroneously issued to Kawalya who later transferred it to Liberty ICD. Through their lawyers of George Kintu and Company Advocates, the applicants explain that land in Uganda is recognized and described using block and plot numbers, not under compartment. 

They contend that there is no proof that the land is part of compartment 11 as claimed by the Commissioner Land Registration. "The first defendant/NFA contends that plot 1425 partially falls inside compartment 11 which is still part and parcel of Namanve Central Forest Reserve. The plaintiff shall contend that a compartment is a non-recognized distinction and description of the land and therefore the first defendant cannot rely on the same to contest the plaintiff's certificate of title”, reads the petition.

Evidence before the court shows that the company appealed against the decision to cancel its certificate before the Mukono High Court and the matter is yet to be determined. Despite this, the company claims that NFA is determined to lease the land to private individuals who are pushing for the cancellation of their certificate of title.

Liberty ICD now wants the High court to issue a permanent order restraining the respondents and their agents from effecting changes in the register by the cancellation of the certificate of title for the land in question. They also want the court to declare that the same land whose subject value is Shillings 200 million doesn't form part and parcel of Namanve Central Forest Reserve. The high court is yet to summon the respondents to file their defense in the matter before the application is allocated to a judge.