The dispute now places Tooro at a delicate crossroads between customary authority and Uganda’s legal framework. Omusuuga Kamurasi has called for respect for tradition and the law, while President Museveni has called for peace and unity among the Batooro.

In Rukungiri Municipality, Ingrid Turinawe is challenging the election of Lt Gen Henry Tumukunde, while in Kinkizi East, Sam Arinaitwe Kajojo has petitioned against Health Minister Dr. Chris Baryomunsi. Both cases also name the Electoral Commission as a respondent.  

The party also drew lessons from neighbouring Kenya, where, it said, Kenyans stood firm to protect Uhuru Park and Jeevanjee Gardens in Nairobi from developers, preserving them as the lungs and pride of Nairobi through the efforts of patriots like the late Prof. Wangari Maathai.

The debate therefore goes beyond the proposed hotel and mall. It raises a fundamental question for Kampala: should it preserve its remaining open spaces for public use, or convert them into commercial developments in the name of modernisation and investment?

The forum comes as UWA continues to strengthen partnerships and procurement systems to support conservation. The authority is mandated to conserve and sustainably manage Uganda’s wildlife and protected areas.

Nabakooba also warned that climate change must increasingly shape decisions on where and how cities are developed, citing floods, extreme heat, drought and water scarcity as growing threats to property and infrastructure.

The appeal calls for a calm, credible process to examine the Will, hear all sides, and consider customs and applicable law, rather than competing announcements and attempts to create facts on the ground during mourning.