There is concern in the Masaka City Council over a renewed attempt for the repossession of Hill Road Public Primary School by the Indian Association of Uganda.
The Indian Association of Uganda claims that it was founded by the departed Asians who were ousted by President Amin.
The school, located in Nyendo-Mukungwe division, is the best-performing Universal Primary Education (UPE) implementing school in the whole of greater Masaka. It also has one of the highest pupil enrollments of over 3,000 learners.
The leadership of the registered trustees of the Indian Association of Uganda, led by Rajin Taylor, placed new claims to the Masaka city council seeking to repossess the school.He said the association is seeking to repossess the property as the foundation body, to preserve the legacy and carry on the dream of the forefathers who started it in 1954.
Taylor indicates that originally, the founders had obtained a 49-year lease certificate from the government, and before their expulsion in 1972, they had only spent eighteen years.He said the association has been working on the modalities of repossessing the school since 2002.
They are seeking to extend the lease tenure from the original 45 years to a period of 99 years.The association formally applied to the Masaka City Land Board to grant it permission for lease extension by the Uganda Land Commission.
He revealed that it has already obtained a repossession certificate from the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development. David Ddungu, a lawyer for the Indian Association of Uganda, said his clients in 2014 secured clearance papers to repossess the property from the Masaka District Land Board, but the process was slowed down following the transition of Masaka Municipality to a City Council.
He said they intend to engage the local government leadership to harmonise positions and agree on timelines for handing over the properties to the founders. Florence Namayanja, the Masakv City Mayor, said they are disturbed by the demands for repossession of the school.
Adding that they are not certain of what the claimants want the school for.She says they cannot afford to hand over the model UPE school, which she says caters for education needs of thousands of children from average households.
Namayanja says that, as the current occupants of the property, they have submitted the Uganda Land Commission applications for renewal of the running lease, such that the property can continue to serve the original purpose of being utilised as a community school.
John Ssenyonga, the Chairperson of Masaka City Land Board, says they are bound by law to grant a lease extension application to the occupants, especially after expressing interest in continuing to use the property.
He says they are going to continue engaging with the Indian Association of Uganda to reach a compromise. URN