KAMPALA – City tycoon Mohan Kiwanuka has denied having any mental health issues as alleged by lawyer Jordan Sebuliba and denied that the latter is his son in a protracted property wrangle that is threatening to tear the family apart.
Mr Kiwanuka, the husband of former Finance minister Maria Kiwanuka, is the owner of multiple businesses and properties in the city, including Oscar Industries LTD, Radio One and Radio 2 (Akaboozi).
Mr Kiwanuka also has another wife Beatrice Kiwanuka, who is the mother of lawyer Sebuliba.
However, Sebuliba recently went to court, demanding that tycoon Kiwanuka should give up management of his business empire since he is sick and no longer has the mental conscience to manage the property.
However, the tycoon says Sebuliba is trying to grab his property by taking advantage of the father’s sickness.
According to the tycoon, it all began from a disagreement over one of his properties, Seven Trees Gardens located in Kololo along Dundas Road that Sebuliba had occupied without his permission, a thing never done by any of his siblings. He has occupied the property for the past 10 years without remitting any monies to his dad nor paying rent for it.
Furthermore there are complaints from neighbours about noise from Seven Trees Gardens.
“The activities from the place (Seven Trees Gardens) made a lot of noise for its neighbours who are mostly embassies (Kiwanuka’s tenants). They reported us to authorities over noise over and over again. So I asked him to stop all of his activities at the place,” Kiwanuka, a landlord to 13 embassies in Kololo and Nakasero narrated.
This didn’t go down well with Sebuliba. He mobilised his siblings and led them to Kiwanuka.
“They asked me to give them their properties. My immediate response was, ‘when did you entrust me with them (properties)?’”
And following his refusal to heed to their demands, that marked the birth of the case which is before the civil court.
“In that case, Sebuliba requests court to take me to Butabika claiming I have mental health issues and subsequently appoint him as the director to run my businesses. What amuses me is the person (Sebuliba) fighting over my property when I’m still alive is not my (biological) son. I just (adopted him and) raised him as my son. I even took him to good schools, including to a University in UK from where he studied his law degree.
“On his return, he failed to get a job and I got him one. I even funded his wedding. But he is not my son……his mother, then a secretary in one of the offices in Entebbe sired him from her boss, a westerner. When I suggested to his mother that we take him to a DNA test, she began quarrelling. I told her it was okay…. I decided to raise him just like a true Muganda.”
Kiwanuka now says he doesn’t want any of his children siding with Sebuliba to come near him.
“If they have taken me to court over my own property, then they are capable of doing anything to me.”
Sebuliba 40, was born by Kiwanuka’s first wife, Beatrice Kavuma Kiwanuka. He has four siblings from his mother.
Kiwanuka’s second wife, Maria, has three children. On evicting his first wife, Beatrice from their marital home in Kololo, he says he has only one wife, Maria Kiwanuka and has never stayed with Beatrice for the last 35 years.
Nonetheless, he wasn’t forcing her out of the property. He says he had got someone who was willing to pay $5,000 monthly rent for the property. And following the death of his mother who was residing in Kamwokya, he only advised her to occupy his late mother’s house and be receiving the $5,000 monthly rent from the property she is occupying for she is aging and shouldn’t be doing hard works but her response was, “who sleeps in Kamwokya?”
We have learnt Kiwanuka put all his kids including Sebuliba on a retainer where he gives each $3,000 (about Shs11million) every month for their upkeep.
According to court documents, Kiwanuka has over 46 properties including Oscar Industries, Radio 1 and Radio 2 (Akaboozi ku Biri), and real estate that includes residential and commercial properties in Kololo, Naguru, Nakasero, Nakawa and Kiwatule. His properties in Kololo and Nakasero are rented by 13 North American and European embassies.