Mengo backs CEC on land evictions

The Buganda Kingdom leadership has welcomed the National Resistance Movement (NRM) Central Executive Committee (CEC) resolution to stop rampant evictions of people from their mailo land.

Speaking to Monitor in a telephone interview yesterday, the Buganda Kingdom’s Information minister and spokesperson, Mr Noah Kiyimba, said evictions and land grabbing take place in nearly all corners of the country, including places where mailo land does not exist.

 “What is vitally important is to ensure that those who evict bibanja holders are brought to book. The police, courts and land offices should work efficiently and impartiality to ensure that every citizen’s land rights are protected,” he said.

Mr Kiyimba added that several developments have failed and others have been halted because of land wrangles, especially on mailo land, adding that government intervention would resolve the issue.

This comes after the NRM CEC had adopted President Museveni’s policy document on compensation, compelling mailo land owners to stop evicting tenants.

President Museveni, who is also the national chairman of NRM, met his party leaders at the weekend, and presented a paper, which he said would act as guiding tool for the executive of the party’s work.

“On the issue of land, the CEC resolved to de-campaign land fragmentation, resist land eviction, especially the bibanja owners through compensation the “exploitative” mailo owners,” the statement reads in part.

President Museveni has consistently attributed the land eviction to the mailo land tenure system.

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Under the mailo land tenure system, the land owner registered on the certificate of title, the tenant by occupancy and bibanja holders have interests on the said land. The system was introduced in the 1990 agreement between Buganda Kingdom and British colonialists. Under the tenure, a few chiefs could own land and others become tenants or bibanja holders.

However, the government wants to amend the land law to make it hard to evict bibanja owners (tenants).

Mr Kiyimba said there are no payments on mailo land. “Once you buy your land, you pay the government taxes amounting to 1.5 percent of the value of the land. The value is determined by the government valuer. The kingdom isn’t involved at all in this process,” he said.

Buganda Kingdom opposes proposals of removing mailo land tenure system or amending it.

Mr Emmanuel Dombo, the director of communications in the NRM’s secretariat, said it is unfortunate that at times Buganda Kingdom makes statements without giving a fair hearing to government proposals.

“For so long the government‘s position has been that the absent mailo land landlords should be compensated  in order to enable bibanja owners to settle and this is one of the reasons why the land fund was created ,”he said .

Mr Dombo added that unfortunately some corrupt officials from the land fund in government have been misappropriating the funds.

“What government retaliated during the CEC meeting  is the same position the government has been stating and repeatedly by President  Museveni, I think going forward I strongly encourage our brothers and sisters from Buganda Kingdom to always find time to talk with their senior colleagues in government,  especially the President and other senior  officials,” he said.