By our reporter
National
The office of the president has come out to clarify on the roles of the Presidential Task Force on land matter headed by Brig. Gen. Moses Lukyamuzi.
In a statement released by the president’s office noted that the task force is assigned to oversee land matters such as prevention of encroachment on wetlands, forests and river banks, swift security response in cases of land grabbing and handing over suspect’s to the police for further hanfling.
The President’s Office further cautioned that Brig. Gen. Lukyamuzi’s task force does not have a mandate to arrest, detain or carryout investigations on land matters.
“The taskforce is not authorized to conduct investigation, detain individuals, or persecute suspects,” the president’s office warned.
These according to the president’s office are responsibilities of the police, Office of the Director of Public Prosecution and courts of law.
The Presidential Task Torce on land matters was established in 2021 and put under the ministry of lands, housing and urban development to aid the president on overseeing land matters.
In September 2023, President Museveni had suspended the operations of the task force to evaluate its work but was later revived.
It should further be recalled that since it’s establishment, the task force has received strong opposition from both the political and technical wings at the ministry. For instance , in 2022, the Minister of State for Lands, Sam Mayanja, has trashed the force’s operations saying it does not have the mandate to execute any land related matters.
“The committee is not gazetted,” minister Mayanja said in Wakiso.
“It’s activities are always contrary to the law and court orders,” he added.
Mayanja noted that the committee is not an execution arm of courts and cannot implement court order.
“Execution (of court order) is done with the help of police which is mandated under the civil court. The committee does not have the mandate to solve land matters. Its only meant to respond fast where there are issues and hand over to police for action,” Mayanja explained.
Brig. Gen. Lukyamuzi’s task force has been advised to collaborate with other stakeholders such as the police, lands ministry to effectively execute it’s duties
