KAMPALA — The State House Anti-Corruption Unit (SH-ACU) has fiercely rejected a series of anonymous social media publications accusing it of judicial interference, exposing them as a calculated blackmail campaign orchestrated by a prominent land-grabbing suspect.
In a comprehensive press statement released on Monday, June 22, 2026, the Unit detailed two distinct ongoing investigations involving real estate dealer Yusuf Ssemakula. According to SH-ACU, Ssemakula has gone into hiding and resorted to hiring online bloggers and social media actors to distort ongoing investigations into violent land disputes in Kira Municipality.
The Namugongo Dispute: Fences Smashed and Victims Detained
The first dispute centers on Kyadondo Block 185 (Plots 11407 and 11408) located in Namugongo.
According to SH-ACU records, a complainant identified as Dr. Winnie Nyemera approached the unit on May 12, 2026, after Ssemakula allegedly demolished her perimeter wall fence. To complicate matters, Dr. Nyemera alleged that local police had been manipulated by Ssemakula, resulting in her own brief detention when she attempted to rebuild her broken fence.
Investigations revealed that Dr. Nyemera has been in actual possession of the land since 2017 under a legitimate kibanja interest. Her occupation of the two-acre piece of land was previously validated by the court in Civil Suit No. 448 of 2023. Strikingly, the Unit noted that Ssemakula was fully aware of her interest in the property, having previously pocketed money from her under the guise of processing her land title—a task he never completed.
“Rather than cooperate with investigations and explain allegations concerning destruction of the fence, Yusuf Ssemakula went into hiding and resorted to social media propaganda,” the SH-ACU statement reads.
Further compounding the Namugongo case, a land vendor named Hezekiah Mukiibi has also come forward, accusing Ssemakula of relentless harassment and placing irregular caveats on several land titles to force him into surrendering portions of his property.
The Kitukutwe Raids: Fabricated Judicial Orders
The second case involves a violent takeover of land in Kitukutwe, Kira Municipality, under Kyadondo Block 180 (Plots 3 and 15453–15462).
On May 24, 2026, local residents Mawanda Moses, Kabugo William, and a one Kisito and his wife filed complaints stating that Ssemakula had forcefully invaded their properties, destroyed their crops, and graded their land. In a dramatic twist of legal manipulation, Ssemakula allegedly managed to slap malicious criminal charges against the victims themselves.
SH-ACU investigators, coordinating with the Deputy RDC of Kira, visited the scene on June 16, 2026, and confirmed that the victims had peacefully occupied the land for over 25 years, whereas Ssemakula had never stepped foot on it as an occupant.
During the raid, the Unit recovered and exhibited heavy construction tools—including spades, wheelbarrows, and iron bars—procured by Ssemakula to initiate illegal construction.
Most notably, investigators exposed a case of forgery: Ssemakula had allegedly been parading a “consent order” tied to HCCS No. 613 of 2018 to justify his actions. Official verification revealed that the presiding High Court judge had explicitly declined to sign the document, meaning it was never legally issued. Ssemakula had even turned on Sanyu Edisa—the very client he claimed to legally represent in the ongoing court row—by forcefully grabbing her portion of the land as well.
“Not the First Time”
The Anti-Corruption Unit maintains that the online smear campaigns are a desperate, diversionary tactic intended to shield Ssemakula from legal scrutiny and impunity.
“This is not the first time the Unit has encountered Yusuf Ssemakula following complaints of violent and destructive land grabbing,” the statement concluded, reaffirming that the situation on the ground has since been contained.
