Da Dona
JF-Expert Member
- Dec 16, 2025
- 1,062
- 631
A fresh dispute over the ownership and future of Kampala’s City Square has emerged after businessman Hassan Basajjabalaba told MPs that his company, HABA Group, still has an interest in the 2.5-acre public space.
Basajjabalaba told the parliamentary Committee on Statutory and State enterprises (COSASE) committee that HABA won a tender in 2001 to redevelop the square and paid the then Kampala City Council Shs1.6 billion as a premium. He said the agreement provided for a five-year lease followed by an option for a further 49 years.
However, the redevelopment was later halted by government, and Basajjabalaba says the cancelled agreement forms part of his wider compensation claims against government.
The dispute has resurfaced after President Museveni directed the Minister for Kampala to study a proposal by businessman Hassan Bulwadda to develop the site into a modern real estate complex.
KCCA officials, however, maintain that City Square is public land held in trust for Ugandans and should remain a public open space. The government also designated the square a protected historical and monumental site in 2007.
For now, the question of Basajjabalaba’s claimed interest remains before COSASE, which has asked HABA Group to submit documents supporting its compensation and property claims.
So, who owns City Square? The current dispute is not simply about who wants to develop it, but whether Basajjabalaba’s claimed lease or interest remains legally valid and what rights the government and KCCA have over the public space.
