The registered trustees of Soroti Golf Club have applied for plot 10- 12 Kennedy square of the land they have been claiming as theirs for some time now including in Court. According to a letter this website has obtained addressed to Soroti City Clerk on 1st August 2023, the trustees assert that they are the only body affiliated to Uganda Golf Union from Soroti City. In their letter the trustees are applying for plot 10-12 Kennedy square in Soroti which is part of the golf land. (attached is the Application)
It should be remembered that for some time now Soroti Golf Club registered trustees have been in court challenging the way Soroti Golf Club Ltd was awarded a 49 year lease title of golf land by Soroti District Land Board.
In suite No 137 of 2017, the Registered trustees assert that they are the Bonafide owners of the golf land and that Soroti Golf Club Ltd was awarded the land fraudulently. The case was however dismissed with costs.
In an interesting turn of events the decision by the registered trustees to apply for the same land that they claim ownership of raises very serious credibility issues against them. How and why would one apply for the same land that he or she claims to own??
It should be noted that since 1952, the trustees have been holding Soroti Golf Club land in trust until around 2001 when the trustees failed to renew ownership of the land by a way of renewing the lease title that had expired. This therefore means that when the trustees failed to renew the lease, the Land reverted back to the leasing authority, Soroti District Land Board which later considered to lease it out to other interested parties.
According to one of the former members of Soroti District Land Board who preferred anonymity,
there was no way the Land Board could renew the lease hold of the trustees when they had not applied for renewal. “We had to consider other applicants who had expressed interest to manage and develop the land that is; Soroti Municipal Council now City and Soroti Golf Club Ltd. We issued a 99 year lease title to Soroti City while 49 year lease was granted to Soroti Golf Club Ltd.” The issue was however also in error because they issued two lease titles to two different applicants on the same land. It is this error that Soroti City agreed to settle with Soroti Golf Club Ltd a private Developer to enable them continue with their development project for a sports complex. The Council decision was to correct the error by making one of the applicants a Sub-Lessee for 49 years.
This means that, the only entity with the legal rights to ownership of golf land as it stands now is Soroti City authorities and the Private Developer Soroti Golf Club Ltd as opposed to what registered trustees have been propagated. It was a failure on trustees side to apply for their lease renewal. They only woke up after the Soroti District Land Board had already re-allocated the land to other interested applicants.
On the other hand, this website has learnt that, Soroti City Authorities have written to the Government valuer to ascertain the current value of Golf land so that the City authorities can Levi an Appropriate Land lease Premium against Soroti Golf Club Ltd that has been issued Sub-Leasing rights of 49 years by the city authorities to enable them continue with the development of their sports complex.
Some of the Soroti City councilors interviewed by this Website who preferred anonymity but were present in the resolution of council to allow Soroti Golf Club Ltd to become a sub-Lessee so as to allow them continue with development of the golf land, say the matter at hand is not the legalities of ownership but politics. “Legally Soroti City has a 99 year lease title and Soroti Golf Club Ltd has been having a 49 year Lease title all issued by the custodian of government land in Soroti, Soroti District Land board” one of the me councilors revealed.
Some city councilors however blame the confusion on Big politicians who also have interest to own the land through back door means. According to them, all the confusion is funded by politicians who are against the Proprietors of Soroti Golf Club Ltd . One of the Councilors pleaded that Teso Politicians should stop playing petty politics of opposing development in the City. “If the proprietors of Soroti Golf Club Ltd have brought development, we as Teso people should welcome it and put politics aside”
According to Jambo and Co Advocates, his client (Soroti Golf Club Ltd) followed all the legal requirements to acquire the lease title that has been converted into a Sub-Lease recently by the city council. According to him, the trustees have become shadows of an NRM big politician who is fighting political wars but at the same time thinks he should be the one with the right to own everything in Soroti.
He added that the trustees since 1952 had failed to keep the golf property and that the place had become a Haven of criminals. At some point golf land became a dumping ground for dead bodies by criminals. “It was until Soroti Golf Club Ltd obtained the lease title that they started managing the property by carrying out regular cleaning and mowing. “ On the other hand the trustees in question had started selling part of the golf land and Soroti Golf Club Ltd came to save the golf land for the sake of sports activities and sports lovers as opposed to the selfish arrangement by some of the sponsored registered trustees