By Sania Babirye
The Tooro Queen mother Best Kemigisha has denied allegations that she grabbed and sold off Royal land.
While appearing before the commission of inquiry into land matters headed by justice Catherine Bamugemeire,her majesty has instead told the commission that the land she is being accused of grabbing including that which comprises of royal burial sites belongs to her and her children.
The Queen mother says that the land is legally hers because it was given to her by her late husband King Patrick Mathew Olimi Kaboyo.
She also confirmed that she transferred the said land including that in Kitumba and Kalandi Individually in her name to protect the interests of her children among others.
She added that she can not steal royal land since the ministry of lands and the Tooro Kingdom administrators know what property privately belongs to the Kingdom and that which privately belonged to her late husband since there is still a distinction between private property which belongs to the Kingdom and what belongs to an individual.
She says that for example even land near her palace belongs to her despite having burial sites of Royals.
The commission chairperson Justice Catherine Bamugemeire issued the summons to the queen other after she failed to show up before the commission sitting in Kampala on the 19th of this month.
She had communicated to the commission in a letter that she was unable to make it because she was attending a royal function.
Last month Tooro Kingdom Royals accused Queen Mother Best Kemigisa of grabbing and selling land belonging to royals.
In their petition to the land commission, royal family members accused the Queen Mother of grabbing the kingdom land and selling cultural sites such as burial grounds of their forefathers at Kagoma and Burongo in Kibitto and Kisomoro sub-counties respectively.
Evidence before land commission shows that upon the death of her husband, King Patrick Mathew Olimi Kaboyo the third in August 1995, the Queen Mother acquired letters of administration as a sole administrator of the estate in 1999 which formed basis for transfer of the land into her names and subsequent sale of the royal family land.