KAMPALA — A bitter feud between property tycoon Yusuf Ssemakula and the State House Anti-Corruption Unit (SH-ACU) has spilled further into public view, with the Unit accusing the Sema Properties Limited boss of waging a social media campaign to malign investigators, while Ssemakula has previously accused the same officials of disobeying court orders to favour his rivals on disputed land.
In a press statement issued Monday, SH-ACU said it had come under attack from sensational online publications by an anonymous writer making “wild allegations” against the Unit, including claims that it interfered with courts of law and subverted judicial processes. The publications cited two ongoing court matters — High Court (Land Division) Miscellaneous Application No. 059 of 2025, arising from HCCS No. 111 of 2025, and Miscellaneous Application No. 2997 of 2024, arising from HCCS No. 613 of 2018 — as evidence of the Unit’s alleged meddling.
SH-ACU said the publications bore the same hallmarks as previous campaigns linked to a land grabber it has investigated before, accusing the writer of spreading falsehoods to “divert, undermine and frustrate investigations into land grabbing and related impunity through blackmail and social media propaganda.”
The Namugongo Dispute
The first matter, the Unit said, concerns land at Kyadondo Block 185, Plots 11407 and 11408, in Namugongo, Kira Municipality. SH-ACU said Dr. Winnie Nyemera reported on May 12, 2026, that Ssemakula had destroyed her wall fence, and that local police were “manipulated” by him into detaining her when she tried to rebuild it.
The Unit said Dr. Nyemera is not formally a party to the underlying civil suit, despite being in actual possession of the land. It said she acquired a kibanja interest in 2017 and built the fence, a fact corroborated by Hezekiah Mukiibi, who sold the land to a Mr. Obatre, and confirmed in a separate case involving Majorine Vocational and Business Institute Ltd, in which her occupation of a two-acre kibanja was acknowledged by court.
SH-ACU further alleged that Ssemakula knew of Dr. Nyemera’s interest in the land and had taken money from her to process a title, which he never did. Rather than cooperate with investigators, the Unit said, “Ssemakula went into hiding and resorted to social media propaganda” to intimidate her off the land. It said it has since intervened alongside the Deputy RDC for Kira and police to contain the situation. Separately, Mukiibi has accused Ssemakula of harassment and irregularly placing caveats on his land titles.
The Kitukutwe Dispute
The second matter concerns land at Kyadondo Block 180, Plots 3 and 15453–15462, in Kitukutwe, Kira Municipality. SH-ACU said that on May 24, 2026, Mawanda Moses, Kabugo William, and Kizito and his wife reported that Ssemakula had forcefully entered their land, destroyed crops, graded portions of it, and had criminal charges brought against them.
While ownership disputes remain before court between the complainants and others, including a Sanyu Edisa, the Unit alleged Ssemakula “descended on the land and forcefully took possession” of it, including the portion occupied by Sanyu, whom he claims to represent. SH-ACU said it also verified that a consent order purportedly issued in HCCS No. 613 of 2018 was never actually signed or issued by the presiding judge.
Investigators who visited the site on June 16, 2026, recovered spades, wheelbarrows and iron bars allegedly procured by Ssemakula for construction, and said the complainants had occupied the land for more than 25 years, while Ssemakula had never occupied it at all.
A Long-Running Rivalry
SH-ACU said this is far from its first run-in with Ssemakula over land grabbing allegations. It cited a December 26, 2022 incident in which it alleges he hired goons and a grader to demolish the Ntinda home of the late Eng. Eliba Orech, despite a pending Court of Appeal case and status quo orders, prompting intervention by the Unit and the Inspector General of Police. It also cited a November 2022 case in which his workers allegedly graded three acres belonging to 99-year-old Hellena Namazzi in Namugongo, despite a pending Supreme Court matter.
The Unit noted that Ssemakula sued its leadership, the IGP, the Deputy IGP and others in 2025 over alleged disregard for court orders, but that the suit was dismissed by court in October 2025.
Ssemakula’s Side
The rivalry, however, runs in both directions. Independent reporting shows Ssemakula has separately accused senior SH-ACU and police officials of disobeying court injunctions to favour rival claimants on land he says he bought legitimately, including in a case where the High Court Land Division summoned Unit officials over a Kira Road property. He has also faced criminal charges, including in connection with the Orech family demolition, for which he was previously arraigned and remanded.
Unit Vows Crackdown
SH-ACU insisted it “operates strictly within the law and established Standard Operating Procedures,” working closely with the Judiciary, the DPP’s office, the IGG, police leadership and RDCs. It said Ssemakula has been summoned to give his side of the story but has refused to cooperate, instead using “rogue elements in social media to malign the Unit and terrorize his victims.”
The Unit said it will work with other security agencies to ensure Ssemakula and his “co-conspirators” are apprehended to answer charges of forcible entry, malicious damage, and fraudulent procurement of titles, warning that this is meant to “send a deterrent message to other land grabbers in the country.”
