The Supreme Court has ordered Moses Kanyike Kasasa and Anwar Ssempiira Kasasa to pay legal costs to the Attorney General, the family of Ssekabaka Edward Muteesa II, and the administrators of the late Dr. Muhammad Buwule Kasasa’s estate after withdrawing their application challenging a settlement agreement over disputed Mutungo land.
The two family members, represented by Kiiza & Co Advocates alongside former Attorney General Mwesigwa Rukutana, had gone to the Supreme Court seeking an injunction to block the implementation of a negotiated settlement between the administrators of the late Dr. Buwule Kasasa’s estate and the family of Edward Muteesa II.
The settlement concerned ownership and administration of the contested Mutungo land, which has been at the center of a long-running legal dispute involving the estate of Dr. Kasasa and the estate of Sir Edward Muteesa II, represented by family members including Prince David Wasajja.
However, after filing the case, Moses Kanyike Kasasa and Anwar Ssempiira Kasasa made a dramatic turn and asked the Supreme Court to allow them to withdraw their application without paying legal costs.
This request was strongly opposed by the Attorney General, the Muteesa II family, and the administrators of the Kasasa estate, who argued that they had already spent millions of shillings in legal fees defending what they described as a frivolous and unnecessary suit.
In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court ruled that withdrawing the case could not protect the applicants from financial responsibility for the legal expenses already incurred by the respondents.
The court therefore allowed the withdrawal but ordered Moses Kanyike Kasasa and Anwar Ssempiira Kasasa to pay costs to all the respondents.
According to the Supreme Court record in Civil Appeal No. 1 of 2024, the matter had earlier been referred to mediation to harmonize disagreements among executors and beneficiaries of the estate.
The court emphasized that decisions concerning an estate must reflect the wishes of the deceased as stated in the will and that executors must act strictly within that framework.
The justices further noted that where there are multiple executors, all actions taken must align with the testator’s intentions and the applicable succession laws, which reinforced the legality of the mediated settlement process.
With the case withdrawn and costs awarded, the ruling clears the way for full implementation of the Mutungo land settlement, bringing years of litigation and uncertainty over the disputed property closer to an end.
