Police officers from the Land Protection Unit have arrested a man for illegally occupying a condominium property belonging to Dr. Dennis Daniel Ssemugenyi in Kololo, a upscale Kampala suburb.
The arrest comes amidst a dramatic escalation of events, with Dr. Ssemugenyi, a Ugandan businessman based in Canada, alleging a sophisticated and coordinated property-grabbing scheme targeting his multi-billion shilling assets, seemingly linked to a prior legal battle that saw his bank accounts unfrozen just weeks ago.
The arrested individual, identified as Mugerwa, was apprehended Tuesday morning from the Hilltop Residence in Kololo. He reportedly claimed to have rented the apartment from a David Kenneth Numembi at a cost of USD 6,000.
Dr. Ssemugenyi’s ordeal began last month, just hours after the High Court in Kampala ordered DFCU Bank to unfreeze his bank accounts. On August 21, 2025, Justice Isaac Muwata of the Criminal Division declared the continued freeze of Dr. Ssemugenyi’s accounts and those of his company, Daniel Dennis Investment Group Ltd, as “neither correct, legal, nor proper.”
Muwata described the continued freeze as a miscarriage of justice that violated both the Computer Misuse Act and the Constitution of Uganda. The accounts had been frozen for months following a complaint by Thorington Capital Markets Ltd, which accused Dr. Ssemugenyi of fraudulently obtaining USD 120,000 in processing fees for a proposed USD 35 million loan.
“I am at pain. These people put a ban on my bank accounts for a long time,” Dr. Ssemugenyi told journalists. “They had frozen my money with the excuse that I was money laundering with intentions to destabilize the security of the country. This was a lie. The people they said they had given me the money were the people on the debit side of my accounts. These were my employees. People I was giving money. These people connived with my employees to forge documents and swore an affidavit that I was illegally getting money from Europe. Not true at all.”
However, Dr. Ssemugenyi’s relief was short-lived. “We won the case in the morning but by evening, unknown people, in the company of police from Kira Road, were breaking into my office, removing locks, putting burglars and glasses. All my properties inside the house were hijacked by the thugs. They also went to the Hilltop residence and did the same. They broke into the condominium and hijacked everything – from cups, chairs, beds, mattresses, everything.”
Believing the individuals targeting his properties are the same forces behind the bank account freeze, Dr. Ssemugenyi sought justice through Muwema and Company advocates, who then engaged the Land Protection Unit of the police. This intervention led to Mugerwa’s arrest for questioning.
The Land Protection Unit, now under the Directorate of Human Rights & Legal Services following a recent restructuring aimed at enhancing its capacity to address both civil and criminal aspects of land disputes, is led by CP James Kusemererwa, with ACP Musani Sabila as his deputy.
Dr. Ssemugenyi insists that he legitimately purchased these properties from Universal Multipurpose Enterprises and Canaanze Constructions Ltd, with all developers confirming his rightful ownership. He is now battling what he describes as a “network of lawyers, bankers, and police officers colluding to grab multi-billion shilling assets in broad daylight.”
Central to the alleged scheme is David Kenneth Numembi. According to paperwork presented by his lawyers, K&K Advocates, Numembi was able to swiftly acquire Dr. Ssemugenyi’s Kololo property and secure a mortgage loan from Tropical Bank worth Shs 840 million in less than a week.
Official correspondences from Yvonne Mary Amutuhaire, the Registrar of Titles, confirmed that the land in Kololo had been registered to Numembi on August 15, 2025, and subsequently mortgaged on August 19, 2025.
K&K Advocates, a law firm in which Attorney General Kiryowa Kiwanuka reportedly has an interest, also reportedly wrote to Knight Frank Uganda, the property managers, introducing Numembi as the new proprietor.
Dr. Ssemugenyi has vehemently described these title transfers as illegal and vows not to relinquish his properties. He also alleges a broader “witch hunt,” accusing the Attorney General of attempts to freeze his bank accounts abroad, specifically in Mauritius, over claims of undeclared income from his Mauritius businesses, which he strongly denies.
Alarmingly, Dr. Ssemugenyi claims that individuals involved in the attempted land grabs have invoked powerful names. “The people who come to grab my land say it is the husband of Col. Nakalema who sends them. I don’t have any issues with the husband of Col. Nakalema. I have never talked to him and I have no grudge with him,” he stated.
“If they are just using his name, he should come out and explain to the public and call these people out and their illegal ways. Those who went Crescent Windsor, said it was General Muhoozi [Kainerugaba]’s wife, Charlotte, who had sent them. Again, I don’t have any problems with her, I have never talked to and I can’t verify if what they are saying is true or wrong.”
As investigations continue, Dr. Ssemugenyi remains resolute in his fight for justice and the protection of his assets.
