Kampala Rugby Club Accuses Union Officials of Extortion and 'Mob Justice' Over Legends Land Deal

A fresh legal dispute has erupted within Uganda’s rugby establishment after Kampala Rugby Union Football Club Ltd (KRUFC) accused senior Uganda Rugby Union (URU) officials of attempting to extort commissions and land during the sale of its property on Sports Lane, Lugogo.

In a strongly worded press statement issued by M/s Simon Tendo Kabenge Advocates, KRUFC alleges that the union attempted to insert itself into a $1.6 million (Shs6 billion) land transaction in which the club was selling off its interests in what was popularly known as Legends Rugby Grounds.

The property has since changed hands, and the iconic facility closed its doors earlier this week.

“Our clients outrightly rejected these corrupt motives of the said union officials and went ahead and sold the land to a buyer of their choice,” the statement, on behalf of Steven Ojambo, John Musoke, Henry Musoke and Sam Ahamya, reads.

KRUFC, a private limited company founded in 1963, says the union — formed in 1996 — has no legal authority over its affairs and cannot interfere in its property dealings or governance.

According to the lawyers, top URU officials had demanded “a commission of US$ 100,000 and one acre of land” as a condition for allowing the sale to proceed. When the club refused, the union allegedly retaliated.

“On 11th September 2012 in an act of reprisal motivated by malice, vindictiveness, intolerance, prejudice, jealousy and revenge, the union called a special general meeting… and in a mob justice manner suspended our clients,” the press statement claims.

The suspension came alongside what the lawyers describe as “a kangaroo court,” during which the union “purported to institute an illegal commission of inquiry” into the land transaction, even though the matter was already before the Commercial Court in case number HCCS 139/2011.

The law firm argues that these actions were “not only illegal, irrational, ultravires [beyond their powers], unconstitutional but are also fraught with procedural impropriety and are in contempt of court and not within the law.”

At the heart of the dispute is KRUFC’s claim that the Uganda Rugby Union has long misrepresented itself as having overarching control over all rugby-related land and activity in Uganda.

The lawyers reject this: “The union has no monopoly on the game of rugby in Uganda and… is only limited to rugby activities of its members and further only to rugby activities that are initiated and hosted by the union.”

The statement dismisses the assumption that the union controls all rugby activities in the country as “a fallacy.”

KRUFC also reaffirmed that the disputed property was rightly under their ownership and that their directors acted within their mandate in selling it.

“Our clients are performing their powers as directors within the law,” the lawyers assert.

To further remove any doubt about the club’s direction, the statement reveals that KRUFC has since purchased 16 acres of land in Luzira, where it plans to build a multi-purpose sports complex.

The proposed development includes “two state-of-the-art 20,000-seater stadiums, modern gymnasiums, a medical clinic, a 5-star restaurant, a world standard swimming pool and club houses.”

The lawyers say KRUFC is now finalising legal steps “to reverse these illegalities that have brought the game of rugby into disrepute and forever remove them from the annals of public records.”

The press statement does not mention businessman Stanslas Isiagi — who reportedly bought the Lugogo property last year — nor does it challenge the $4 million deal that ultimately led to the closure of Legends Rugby Grounds.

Instead, it aims to draw a sharp legal boundary between KRUFC’s authority as a limited company and what it calls the Uganda Rugby Union’s “ultravires” interference.

“There must be an end to arbitrary action by union officials,” the lawyers conclude.