By Leonard Kamugisha Akida,
KAMPALA:
President Museveni has renewed his discussions on land and this time raging attacks on the Buganda Kingdom land tenure system popularly known as the Mailo land.
Recently, the president remarkebly directed his leaders in the NRM Central Executive Committee (NRM CEC) to fight the Buganda Land Board (BLB) which he referred as an illegal body operating in the country and threatened to remove the mailo land system.
This has ignited debates in the country with largest population in the central region (Buganda) and the pro Buganda people attacking him of his illicit talks amid shooting unresolved land conflicts.
The Forum for Democratic Change has thus termed the president’s statements as a recipe for violence likely to drive the population into breach of the law.
According to the FDC, Museveni is employing populist measures to resolve land conflicts. They advise that Museveni and his government should do away with politicizing land problrms in the country but provide lasting solutions.
“FDC would like to again caution Mr. Museveni against employing populist measures to resolve land conflicts in the country. His latest aggressive attacks on the country’s land tenure system is causing unnecessary tension and insecurity,” cautions FDC.
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Speaking to journalists on Monday at the party headquarters in Najjanankumbi, the party Spokesperson Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda said that Uganda’s land problems does not necessary emanate from the land tenure systems as alleged by the president but on the increasing population which exerts too much pressure on the land.
The Buganda Land Board is a company established under the Company’s Actas a single member company whose shareholder is the Kabaka of Buganda also a corporation sole under Article 246 (3) of the constitution of Uganda. With legal rights to sue or be sued.
He urges that government should deal with other land factors such as poverty, high population and land grabbers to resolve endless land conflicts in Uganda.
“Uganda has one of the world’s biggest fertility rates, 5.8 children per woman. With growing of population, a big percentage the poor estimated at 8 million, government should deal with high poverty percentages and stop the impunity of well-connected people to resolve evictions and land conflicts in Uganda,” Ssemujju said.
For many times, president Museveni has publicly attacked individuals, institutions which own large chunks of lands as the main source of land conflicts in the country calling for abolition of some land tenure systems to equally redistribute lands.
He has on different occassions employed internal persons to preach against tenure systems within targeted institutions. The most recent being the minister of state for lands Hon. Sam Mayanja who traverse different parts of Buganda talking ill of the Mailo land and Buganda Land Board on orders of his master.
Withal the attacks, FDC urge that if Museveni thinks abolition of land tenure system promotes equal redistribution of land and resolves land conflicts, he should in first place giveaway his land at Kisozi, Rwakitura ranches to the landless people.
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“If Museveni wants land distributions be done equally as it is a case in other countries like Zimbabwe, let him surrender his farms, settle people there and then ask other Mailo land owners in the country to do the same. He should be examplary,” Ssemujju said.
They called for industrialization, growing the economy and the social service sector to resolve land conflicts in the country.
“The 7th parliament had enacted the Condominium Property Act 2001 which allows people to build skyscrappers and issue titles on each floor than issuing land titles. Government should implement this to reduce pressure on land.” FDC said.
The Mengo government, seat of Buganda Land Board has described President Museveni’s remarks that the BLB is an illegal entity, as “contradictory” to the laws relating to the establishment of companies in the country.
