Buganda Kingdom, Banyala clash over Kayunga land

The Banyala chiefdom leaders accuse officials from Buganda Kingdom of selling land that belongs to the chiefdom.
Buganda Kingdom officials and their counterparts in Bunyala chiefdom in Kayunga District are locked in a land ownership wrangle with the former dismissing as “pure lie” claims by the latter that all land and former Buganda administrative units in the district belong to them.

The fresh row was sparked off by the Banyala leaders led by the chiefdom premier, Mr Martin Ssenkatuuka, who claimed that most of the land at sub-county and Ssaza units that was returned to them as per the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that was signed between Buganda Kingdom and central government in 2013, had been sold off by some “unscrupulous” Buganda kingdom officials in the area.

Mr Ssenkatuuka made the claims during the commissioning of a brand new tractor donated to them by President Museveni on Tuesday.

The tractor, which is intended to boost agricultural productivity in the chiefdom, will be used by farmers to till their land at a small cost.

According to the MoU, all the land and buildings which were being managed by the central government were returned to Buganda Kingdom, but Banyala leaders claim administrative units in Kayunga District belong to them.
In the same MoU, Kabaka (king) Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II was deemed free to move to any part of the land without seeking permission from anyone.

However, Mr Ssenkatuuka complained that government had failed to implement the MoU, which he said had resulted in most of the land being sold off.

“The government should expeditiously implement the MoU because as we talk now, it is (MoU) being implemented selectively,” Mr Ssenkatuuka noted.

“Is government waiting for all the land to be sold and then handover the titles to us?” he asked
The Banyala have since the signing of the MoU claimed ownership of the county and all sub-county headquarters in Kayunga District (Bugerere County)- something Buganda Kingdom has outrightly rebuffed, insisting that they still own the property and have land titles in their possession to prove their claims.

Government has in the past handed over some land titles to Buganda Kingdom with a promise to handover the remaining ones.

Mr James Ssempigga, the Kabaka’s chief in charge of Bugerere County, denied claims that they are selling off the Kabaka’s land, explaining that the squatters on the land did not buy it, but settled on it illegally.

The Buganda Kingdom spokesperson, Mr Noah Kiyimba, dismissed claims that the property in Kayunga District that government returned to the kingdom belongs to the Banyala.

“It is unfortunate that the Banyala continue making such baseless claims. All that land and administrative units still belong to the Kabaka,” Mr Kiyimba said.

Recently, during an interview, Mr Joseph Kawuki, the Buganda Kingdom minister for local government, accused the Banyala leaders of misinterpreting the MoU, insisting that the claims were unfounded and should be ignored.
The ethnic Banyala, who claim they are an independent cultural institutions within Buganda Kingdom, have for long been pushing for secession, which the administration at Mengo, the seat of Buganda Kingdom protests. They constitute only 2.7 of the population in Kayunga District against Baganda who have the majority at 32 per cent.

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