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Museveni threatens to arrest land speculators in impoverished Busoga

President Museveni with his daughter at Mayuge State Lodge during the media engagement.  PHOTO/TAUSI NAKATO

What you need to know:

  • Some fishermen have accused the UPDF soldiers of brutalizing them and killing their colleagues during enforcement of Mr Museveni’s directives. 

President Museveni has urged wealthier Ugandans purchasing land from financially disempowered citizens living in areas highly endowed with natural resources, such as minerals to stop, arguing that such tendencies deny the poor residents economic opportunities.
Mr Museveni observed that many residents in such areas have been crying foul after speculators use all means to settle on the land and later enjoy the natural resources through mining at the expense of the locals, something Mr Museveni, 80, says he detests.

“I was forced to send police and Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) soldiers to Karamoja sub region where gold mining had started and people from other areas, including Somalia and Rwanda had gone to mine it leaving residents out of business. These resources should be controlled by residents and government if not by a few investors with mining skills," Mr Museveni said during an engagement with journalists in the impoverished Busoga sub-region whom he offered Shs100 million and an Omnibus as part of his poverty eradication initiatives.
Mr Museveni’s statement was prompted by concerns from journalists who said residents were being evicted ‘from the degazetted 48 villages in South Busoga Forest Reserve in Mayuge District.
The journalists told Mr Museveni that speculators had started acquiring land from residents in areas of Buyende, Bugweri, Bugiri and Namayingo districts where minerals have been discovered.

The journalists further informed Mr Museveni that local fishermen have been chased from the water bodies in the sub region by non-residents who have started catching fish leaving the indigenous people with no work.
Mr Museveni who has been in power since 1986 said this was unacceptable and the land titles acquired by such people would be cancelled, in addition to arresting and prosecuting perpetrates.

“The land degazetted in South Busoga Forest Reserve was for those who were there before. Therefore, all land titles that have been issued recently will be cancelled,” Mr Museveni said.
Mr Museveni relatedly appealed to those non-residents who have settled around water bodies to vacate so that the “original owners of those areas take charge.”
Mr Museveni believes that there would be no outcries over mistreatment of fishermen around water bodies if those well versed with fish are left to manage them.

“I was informed that the original  fishermen know areas where fish hatch eggs from and they do not throw poisonous materials around them but the new settlers just pour in the water that kills fish,’’ Mr Museveni said.
However, some fishermen have accused the UPDF soldiers of brutalizing them and killing their colleagues during enforcement of Mr Museveni’s directives. 

Several landing sites in Busoga sub region and other parts of the country have been economically disempowered after the army was deployed to reportedly curb illegal fishing.
At the same occasion, the first Deputy Prime Minister, Ms Rebecca Kadaga warned Busoga locals against renting out land to rich people from other areas for sugarcane growing.