The long-running dispute over the Kaazi National Camping and Scouts Centre has taken a new twist after the State House Anti-Corruption Unit (SH-ACU), working with the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), arraigned Muledhu David, the self-styled National Executive Secretary of the Uganda Boys Scouts Association, before the Makindye Magistrate’s Court on Thursday.
Muledhu faces a string of charges, including Unlawful Occupation of Land Belonging to Another, Malicious Damage to Property, Conspiracy to Commit a Felony, Forcible Detainer, and Forcible Entry. He was remanded until September 1, 2025.
He now joins seven other scout leaders, Buragahare Mujuni Patrick, Butumbwire Stephen, Mugisha John, Musoke Stephen Brian, Mununuzi Alex, Orwanga Michael Richard, and Anyango Francis, who were earlier charged in the same case.
According to prosecution, the group is accused of violently seizing the 120-acre Kaazi campsite at Busaabala, Masajja Division, Makindye Ssabagabo Municipality, on June 24, 2025, disrupting operations of the Uganda Scouts Association and causing extensive damage to property.
The Kaazi land—Block 273, Plot 5—was first registered in 1923 under Kabaka Daudi Chwa II, in his official capacity as King of Buganda. In 1948, it was leased to the Uganda Scouts Association for camping purposes.
After kingdoms were abolished in 1967, the land was absorbed by the central government but later restored to Buganda Kingdom under the 1993 Traditional Rulers Restitution of Assets and Properties Act.
In 2020, court reaffirmed the Kabaka’s ownership and cancelled fraudulent claims. But the matter reignited when State Minister for Lands Sam Mayanja attempted to cancel the Kabaka’s title, deregister the Buganda Land Board, and reallocate the land.
That directive was halted by High Court Justice Bonny Isaac Teko, who issued an injunction upholding Buganda’s title to Kaazi.
Internal divisions in the scouting fraternity have further complicated the saga.
The Uganda Boys Scouts Association insists that in February 2025, they secured court powers to assume control of the Scouts offices and oust the Uganda Scouts Association leadership.
They also argue that Kabaka Daudi Chwa “gifted” the land to scouts. Buganda Kingdom, however, dismisses this, stressing that the Kaazi estate was never a personal gift, but property of the monarchy—leased strictly for camping use.
The Kaazi land row has therefore evolved into a three-pronged dispute pitting the Buganda Kingdom, the government, and rival scout factions against each other. With Muledhu’s arraignment, the controversy over Uganda’s most historic scouting site shows no sign of resolution soon.
