Magnum Security Guards Remanded for Forcible Entry on Ntinda Property

Eleven guards, all male and affiliated with Magnum Security, appeared before the Kampala Capital City Authority Chief Magistrates Court on Thursday to face Charges of Forcible Entry on Property. Their arrest was conducted jointly by the State House Anti-Corruption Unit (SHACU) and the Criminal Investigation Directorate (CID).

The state alleges that these guards unlawfully seized property belonging to the late Eng. Eliba Johnson through violent means, despite the existence of a temporary injunction on the property.

The accused were remanded to Luzira Prisons until Wednesday, March 20, 2024.

On Tuesday, SHACU, in collaboration with a CID team, apprehended the 11 personnel from Magnum Security. The private security company had been deployed without legal authorization to evict and subsequently guard a disputed property located at Plot 106, Old Kira Road, Ntinda, within Kampala’s city suburbs.

This intervention follows the demolition of a house on December 26, 2022, by an individual named Yusuf Semakula, who lacked a court order. Despite the existing injunction, Semakula carried out a second eviction of the Eliba family from the premises on March 1, 2024, and enlisted Magnum Security for reinforcement. This action prompted SHACU’s intervention and subsequent arrest of the guards.

SHACU conducted an investigation into the matter and determined that the status quo, referring to the occupation of the property by the Eliba family, should be maintained pending the resolution of court cases concerning the property’s ownership. The Court of Appeal issued an interim injunction to this effect on December 23, 2023.