Kayunga residents turn against minister Nantaba over government land titles

KAYUNGA- Angry constituents in Kayunga District have turned against state minister for ICT Aida Nantaba, blaming her for opposing a programme under which the government wants to issue freehold land titles to tenants settled on a public land in the area.

Under the ongoing programme, government is to issue freehold land titles to at least 2,000 land tenants in 16 villages in the sub-counties of Kitimbwa and Kayonza.

According to the lands state minister Ms Persis Namuganza, the titles are to be issued to the tenants, whose land was illegally sold by Kayunga District Land Board in 2014 to Kayunga Sugar Works Ltd, a subsidiary of Madhvani Group of Companies.

Madhvani had bought the land at unspecified amount of money to grow sugar cane. However, on learning about the “illegal” land transaction, the then LC5 chairman, Mr Stephen Dagada, suspended members of the board and refunded the Shs200m, partial payment that had been made by Madhvani.

Madhivani had ordered the tenants to vacate the land to give way to his sugarcane growing project.

However, when Ms Namuganza visited Kayunga and intervened in the matter, after the tenants petitioned the Speaker of parliament Ms Rebecca Kadaga through their area MP Mr George Kumama. The tenants claim, Ms Nantaba tried to block her successor (Namuganza) from
intervening in the matter and directed residents not to attend the minister’s consultative meeting.

“It is surprising that minister Nantaba, who has all along been claiming that she was fighting for the rights of land tenants not to be illegally evicted from their land is now the same person opposing this good government programme, whereby we are going to be given free land titles,” Mr Moses Mpiima, the Kayonza sub-county LC 3 chairperson and one of the beneficiaries said.

He added. “She (Nantaba) was a minister for lands for five years but failed to get us titles, why is she now blocking this programme?”

Minister Nantaba became a darling of residents in Kayunga District and other areas because of her perceived “crusade” against land grabbers. She was however sued in courts of law by some landlords and was found guilty of her actions and fined.

The Kayunga District LC 5 chairman Mr Tom Sserwanga said, without mentioning any name that; “those blocking the government’s land title programme want to block their colleagues who are steering it so that they can turn around and claim to be fighting for the tenants’ rights. They just want to use it to gain political capital,” Mr Sserwanga said.

Another beneficiary of the programme, Mr Charles Tezikya, a resident of Bulawula, accused Ms Nantaba of misinforming them that the government’s programme of issuing land titles to them is intended to steal their land.

“After minister Namuganza met us in Nkonkonjeru trading Centre two months ago, Ms Nantaba came to our area and told us not to accept what her colleague ( Namuganza) had told us claiming that she was telling us lies,” Mr Tezikya, who said owns two acres of land in
Bulawula village said on Thursday.

During her meeting with the same residents of Nkonkonjeru Trading Centre, Ms Nantaba said there was no need for Ms Namuganza to intervene in the land matter because she ( Nantaba) had already settled the land matter.

The misinformation about the programme, last week prompted state minister for urban development, Dr Chris Baryomusi, to intervene in the matter. Ms Nantaba attended the meeting.
While meeting Kayunga District leaders at the District headquarters, Dr Baryomusi asked them to work together and give the same message about the programme to the beneficiaries.

“We have differences in politics, religion and tribe but we should put them away so that this programme succeeds. I have heard some politicians claiming that the land titles government is going to issue are intended to steal tenants’ land, which is wrong,” Dr Baryomusi
said, adding “These wrangles are going to delay the programme.”

President Museveni was expected to handover the titles to beneficiaries this month but because of the misinformation and other technicalities the date was shifted to early January.

When contacted, Ms Nantaba denied claims made by his constituents that she was opposed to the land title programme saying she was one of the people who asked the government to give titles to residents.

“People are mixing politics in this matter,” she claimed.

Ms Nantaba don’t see eye to eye with most of the leaders in Kayunga District among them Mr Tom Sserwanga, the district LC 5 chairman, RDC Ms Rose Birungi, Mr George Kumama, MP for Bbaale and Mr Moses Karangwa the district NRM chairman.

Ms Nantaba claims all her fellow leaders are corrupt and not pro-people.

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