Museveni’s stand on Buganda Land Board stokes controversy

President Museveni’s guidance to the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) chiefs on the status of the Buganda Land Board (BLB) has elicited controversy, with leaders and some landlords warning that such a communication could derail the relationship the kingdom has enjoyed with the central government.

A section of the stakeholders that Daily Monitor interviewed said the President should consider dialogue with the kingdom to find solutions to the endless land wrangles.

Some said Mr Museveni was being misguided by people with selfish interests.

In a November 8 communication, the President declared BLB illegal and directed NRM party mobilisers on the matter.
In his letter to all Central Executive Committee members of the party, Mr Museveni tasked them to correctly identify the legitimate interests of the different groups of people, which he said is the crux of mobilisation.

Veteran politician and former minister without portfolio, Haj Abdul Nadduli told Daily Monitor in an interview that the statement attributed to President Museveni is very unfortunate.

“The BLB is as old as the Ugandan nation. Both the 1962 and the 1995 Constitution of Uganda recognise it and this partly explains why her majesty the Queen of England handed over Crown land to Buganda as an institution in 1962,” Mr Nadduli said.

“Despite this provocation targeting Buganda, the institution will remain firm. The President in a 2013 memorandum of understanding between him and the Kabaka returned several land titles to BLB and why question the BLB’s legality?” he said.

Mr Nadduli said Mr Museveni was being misled by some selfish individuals. “The statements attributed to President Museveni offend Buganda Kingdom and are part of a ploy to destroy Buganda,” he added.   

As President Museveni swore in for his sixth term in office, he made it clear that one of his priorities would be to end the rampant evictions, which he blamed on Mailo land, a tenure predominantly practised in Buganda. In Buganda, land is the way of life as the kingdom’s cultural aspirations are based on land.

Mr Erasto Kibirango, the chairperson of Luweero District, claimed the President could be having a hidden agenda.

“BLB is an agency that executes its activities on behalf of the Kabaka. Most people that have fallen victim to the land grabbers are not settled on land where the BLB plays a supervisory role. More than 80 percent of the land wrangles and eviction cases are reflected on the private mailo land where BLB is not party,” he said. 

He said it would be misleading to attribute the escalating evictions and land grabbing acts to BLB. 
Mr David Lule Muzanganda, a resident of Kikasa Village in Wobulenzi Town Council, Luweero, said the President has previously had engagements with Buganda Kingdom and the BLB and had never questioned its legality.

But Mr Edward Ssebudde, a retired school headteacher and resident of Kiboga Town Council in Kiboga District, called for dialogue.

“Both the central government and Buganda Kingdom have looked on as bibanja holders get displaced in total disregard of the Land Act so they should sit on the round table to have the matter resolved,” he said.

Mr Isaac Mukisa, a resident of Kimaanya-Kabonera in Masaka Municipality, Masaka City, said: “President Museveni should back off the Buganda Kingdom issues and concentrate on the National issues.”

However, Mr Ibrahim Kitatta, the chairperson of Lwengo District, believes the matter can be handled amicably by President Museveni and the Kabaka.

“This debate is beyond some of us as leaders at the grassroots. The two leaders have the answer to this debate,’’ he said. 
It is alleged that many bibanja land holders are reportedly forced to forfeit more than half of their bibanja by suspected agents that claim attachment to the BLB, but the board distanced it’s self from such groups and officially launched the Kyapa Mungalo campaign.

In April 2017, Buganda Kingdom launched a land title acquisition campaign sitting tenants on the Kabaka’s land measuring about 350 square miles. 

The acquired land leases would expire after 49 years. The lease is subject to renewal under agreed terms.

The Kyapa Mungalo campaign faced criticism and resistance from both the central government and some individuals within the kingdom. Many argued that Buganda Kingdom had no capacity to issue land titles since the mandate is vested in the Government of Uganda through the Ministry of Lands.

But the BLB spokesperson, Mr Dennis Bugaya, in an interview with the Daily Monitor said the question about the legality of BLB is a settled matter because it’s incorporation as a company mandates it to manage land matters on behalf of the Kabaka.

“As Buganda Kingdom, we shall pursue the path of engagement, diplomacy, and mass education of people about their land rights under the wise guidance of the Kabaka who is the custodian and registered proprietor of all land that we manage,’’ he added.
 
NRM party response
The NRM party director of Information and Mobilisation, Mr Emmanuel Dombo, believes President Museveni has Buganda Kingdom and the entire country at heart. He said that possibly explains why the head of State has boldly come out to strike a balance for both the bibanja holders and landlords.

“The NRM was born and natured in Buganda and the party chairperson who fought for the restoration of the traditional institutions should not be wrongly accused of fighting an institution that he helped restore. The President’s concern is centered on the unresolved infighting in the land management system where some bibanja, bonafide and landlords are fighting for the land. In such a situation where the corrupt and wealthy landlords have exploited gaps in the Judiciary and Police to deny the bibanja holders the rights, the President as the fountain of honor has to take charge,’’ he said.

“The established land laws are supposed to protect every citizen and not a few exploitative individuals. It is not true that the President is in direct confrontation with Buganda. Where is the alleged confrontation?’’  he asked.\

Background
In 2016, Ms Betty Amongi, then the Lands minister, criticised the Mailo land tenure, terming it an unfair land acquisition introduced by the 1900 colonial agreement between the British administrators and Buganda Kingdom. She then promised to engage BLB over the matter.

However, the kingdom says instead of blaming the land tenure, the government should sort out the mess at the land’s registry under the Ministry of Lands.

The other issues that have caused land wrangles, according to Buganda, are Uganda’s rapidly-growing population.

Compiled by Dan Wandera, Wilson Kutamba, Ambrose Musasizi, and Brian Adams Kesiime.