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The battle over Best Home Lodge has resurfaced in court as former Ministry of Health Chief Human Resource Officer and Henry Kapoko, together with his company, moved to challenge the State’s continued occupation of the Roma-based property, now operating as a correctional facility for women and their circumstantial children.
In their latest filing, Kapoko and Best Home Lodge Limited outlined how the lodge—once a thriving hospitality business—became entangled in legal proceedings unrelated to its ownership or operations.
They recounted that during Kapoko’s criminal prosecution years earlier, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) seized the lodge as part of its investigation.
However, according to the plaintiffs, the facility was not a front or dormant outfit. Instead, it was, as the claim stated, “a well-known and active going concern” generating no less than US$500,000 per month before the takeover.
The second plaintiff, who reportedly invested heavily in building and running the business, further claimed that they had never been investigated or charged for any offence, yet their enterprise fell into State hands.
The plaintiffs pointed to a turning point on December 22, 2023, when the Court of Appeal ruled that Best Home Lodge, Plot No. 13949 and Stand No. 13947 in Roma Township, did not constitute proceeds of crime and could not be forfeited to the State.
However, the filing states that the State never appealed that judgment but continued to hold the property.
Instead of returning it, the Ministry of Home Affairs converted the facility into a correctional centre—an action the plaintiffs argue openly defied a binding court order.
They further alleged that furnishings and amenities previously in the lodge’s rooms went missing, with no explanation provided.
Kapoko insisted that the State’s actions amounted to compulsory acquisition without compensation, contrary to the Constitution and the Lands Acquisition Act.
With each month of State occupation, the plaintiffs said, their losses mounted, reaching an estimated US$22 million in forfeited business.
They are now demanding US$500,000 per month in rent from the time inmates moved in until the property is vacated.
Their attempts to resolve the matter administratively were met with silence, the filing states, leaving litigation as their last option. Kapoko accused the ACC and the Ministry of Home Affairs of acting in utter disregard of their property rights and the Court of Appeal’s ruling.
The plaintiffs are seeking several remedies: immediate return of Best Home Lodge, restoration of the premises to its original state, compensation for lost income, return of all missing amenities, and a declaration that the State’s conversion of the lodge into a women’s correctional facility was unlawful.
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