Encroachment on Namboole increases by the day thereby again raising that crucial question about the future of the sports complex.

A group of people last week descended on the western section of the property and graded off a huge chunk of the stadium land.

Earlier an even bigger section of the land had been levelled and the beginnings of a market like structure rose close to Sports View Hotel in Kireka.

Worried about the trends, sports enthusiasts point at what happened to Uganda’s oldest stadium – Nakivubo.

It was handed to a businessman Hamis Kiggundu under a public-private partnership arrangement but the sports component of the facility has been undermined.

A shopping complex has instead taken precedence around the former stadium, rendering football unplayable in the area according to the world soccer governing body – FIFA.

What is intriguing is that Namboole management says it is not in the know of exactly what is taking place on its property.

“Ask the Uganda Land Commission. They are the ones who lease land,” stated Namboole managing director Jamil Ssewanyana, when asked on Thursday about the developments.

Ssewanyana last year petitioned the Bamugemereire Commission to help them evict individuals and companies.

Ssewanyana also requested for sh2.5bn from the government to fence off the land. He at that time revealed that 60 of their 120 acres of land had been grabbed by encroachers.

Early this year Sports State Minister Dennis Hamson Obua expressed discomfort over the delayed acquisition of Namboole’s title.

Ssewanyana says the title will not only guarantee ownership but will also allow them to develop the land.

Phase 2 of the sports complex that includes an Olympic size swimming pool, sports halls, and outdoor grounds, has never taken off three decades after the first phase was completed.

Ssewanayana told the commission that two surveys had found that part of the land had been encroached by people who claim they were not compensated by the government under statutory instrument 23/1989 regarding the purchase of the Namboole land.

Uganda Land Commission which was at the heart of compensating previous landowners has been accused of not properly handling the matter.

To date, there are only encroachers and previous landowners who claim they were either not paid or underpaid.

According to the 1995 Constitution, any person who stays on land for 12 years must be compensated before eviction.

Government bought a total of 103 plots on Kyadondo Block 232 and Block 234 for the stadium in 1989. Compensation was done, though many people keep claiming they were not paid.

Kireka Veterans Group, Kasumba Warehouse, Prayer Palace, Mamerito Hotel, owned by the former Kiira Town Council mayor Mamerito Mugerwa, Samsuding Night Parking, Byakuleka Lodge and Inn, Terazone Construction, who claim to be renting from Mugerwa and Brig. Hudson Mukasa, Capt Haruna, and Bweyogerere Central Market were last year listed as some of the encroachers.