A bitter land row has dragged State Minister for Microfinance, Hon. Haruna Kyeyune Kasolo, a top Kyambogo University lecturer, and a senior police boss into serious legal and public trouble. The case, filed by businessman Emmanuel Ssegwanyi at the Masaka High Court under Civil Suit No. 78 of 2024, accuses the minister of forcefully trying to take over 500 acres of land in Rakai District, covering four villages in Kanoni Parish, Lwanda Sub-County.
Ssegwanyi alleges that Minister Kasolo, working closely with Kyambogo lecturer Ssengooba Kasule and Greater Masaka RPC Ezra Tugume, has subjected him to harassment, illegal arrests, and fictitious court cases. According to documents seen by this publication, the trouble began in May 2025 when Kasolo sent surveyors to Ssegwanyi’s land without notice, ordering prison laborers clearing the land to stop work. The surveyors were later arrested by locals for trespassing, but the issue was resolved after they admitted wrongdoing.
Matters escalated when Kasolo later attempted to negotiate with Ssegwanyi to sell him the land, holding meetings at his Solo Hotel in Masaka, at Sheraton Hotel in Kampala, and even at his office. The negotiations collapsed after the minister allegedly presented unfavorable terms. Soon after, Ssegwanyi faced police harassment, including threats of arrest on charges of criminal trespass. Shockingly, when arrested in June 2025, Ssegwanyi discovered that he was being held under a recycled case file number that belonged to a completely different case which had long been closed.
Feeling unfairly targeted, Ssegwanyi petitioned the Rakai RDC, Sarah Kiyimba, who intervened and demanded that the police respect his legal documents showing rightful ownership of the land. He also petitioned the Inspector General of Police (IGP), complaining about the suspicious actions of RPC Tugume. The IGP has since directed the RPC to explain his conduct, but sources say no report has yet been filed.
Court records reveal that Ssengooba, the lecturer, has a long history of failed litigation over the same land, having lost multiple cases without appealing. Yet, he continues filing new cases, including one in June 2025 where he again sought vacant possession of the land, despite court rulings in favor of Ssegwanyi and the original landowners. Investigations have also uncovered irregularities, including undervaluation of the land, dubious payment receipts, and questionable ownership transfers.
A separate report by the Rakai RDC further discredits Ssengooba’s claims that the land was empty when he bought it. The findings revealed that the land hosts 78 homesteads with over 350 residents engaged in farming and settlement for many years. Residents accuse Ssengooba of being a hostile neighbor, destroying crops with his animals, and unlawfully demanding fees from them.
The land, originally part of a farmers’ lease, has been marred by inconsistencies in ownership documents, including the mysterious appearance of names on land titles and sudden transfers to Ssengooba. With Minister Kasolo demanding a refund from Ssengooba and the police accused of bias, the case has now become one of the most high-profile land disputes in Rakai.
As the matter awaits court resolution, the public is watching closely to see how justice will be served in a case that has exposed powerful figures, questionable police conduct, and deep irregularities in Uganda’s land management system.
