Gen. Salim Saleh Denies Ownership of Busabala Wetland Hotel

General Caleb Akandwanaho, popularly known as Salim Saleh, has officially dismissed allegations circulating on social media linking him to a luxury hotel property built in a Kampala wetland.

The development comes amid intensifying public debate over the National Environment Management Authority’s (NEMA) aggressive enforcement operations against illegal structures in protected ecosystems.  

The controversy erupted following a viral video on the social media platform TikTok, in which a user claimed that a hotel allegedly co-owned by Gen. Saleh and President Yoweri Museveni’s daughter, Natasha Karugire, was the primary reason dozens of residential homes were razed to construct an access road.  

In a handwritten response addressed directly to online commentators, Gen. Saleh categorically denied holding any stake in a commercial establishment situated within a wetland.

He noted that he has seen citizens online claiming he owns a hotel in a wetland in Kampala along with Natasha, adding that the property is private and questioning the nature of freedom that permits such claims.  

Gen. Saleh strongly suggested that the actual ownership records for major commercial properties throughout the capital region would soon be laid bare for the public. He added that very soon, the public will know who owns what across the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area (GKMA).

In his written missive, the retired general explicitly referenced several land regulatory bodies, including the Uganda Land Board (ULB), the Kampala District Land Board (KDLB), the National Housing Corporation, and the Buganda Land Board (BLB), before concluding with a message for citizens to stay tuned.  

The high-profile claims emerged in the wake of a enforcement operation conducted by NEMA in Busabala, Wakiso District. Between June 2 and June 4, 2026, the environmental watchdog carried out a demolition exercise targeting the Kaliddubi Wetland, resulting in the destruction of more than 100 structures and leaving hundreds of local residents displaced.  

According to official communications from NEMA, the targeted operation was necessary to restore approximately 10.3 hectares of critical, protected wetland infrastructure that had been degraded by illegal encroachment.

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The regulator maintained that enforcement measures were only enacted after exhausting all soft interventions, including consecutive administrative warnings, eviction notices, and direct community engagement campaigns.  

The scale of the evictions has drawn mixed reactions from the community and political observers. A cross-section of displaced residents accused the environmental authority of conducting surprise raids without adequate notice and questioned why certain commercial developments in the same area appeared to be exempted from the demolitions.

Outraged victims have since demanded full financial compensation for their lost property, while NEMA insists the crackdown will continue across Kampala and surrounding urban centers to safeguard the country’s dwindling ecological buffers.