Police attack on cultural event calls for reflection

The attack by the police on a cultural function in Mityana has led us to revisit the American Declaration of Independence, which is one of the most sacred documents in the area of human rights. 

The Declaration was drafted by one of the founding fathers of the United States, Thomas Jefferson. In its preamble, Jefferson wrote: “We are all created equal; no one ought to have any special rights and privileges in social relations with other men. We have, inherently, certain rights-to our freedom, to do what we please in order to find happiness.”

Jefferson concluded “Government has one purpose: To help protect those rights. And if it doesn’t do that, it has to go, by any means.”

The idea of human political liberty, of the restrictions in the power and reach of government go back forever. In China, the Confucius’s disciple Mencius wrote that “in a nation, the people are the most important, the State is next, and the ruler is the least important.”

In the Western tradition, the heart of Judaism was the contract between Jehovah and the Jews. Even God, the highest source of government, owed obligations to man, at least to the Jews, as long as they kept their end of the bargain.

Christian history has a natural law and natural rights tradition that recognise rational standards for behaviour and human control or behaviour that are above the decisions of earthly governments. This brings us home to the behaviour of some of our government organs.

Our rights are protected and guaranteed by the Constitution. For example, Article 26 provides that “(1) Every person has a right to own property either individually or in association with others. (2) No person shall be compulsorily deprived of property or any right over property except where the following conditions are satisfied...”

In defiance of the above provision of the Constitution, some well-placed people are dispossessing less fortunate people of their properties through frauds in the land office. 
For example, the proprietor of Block 530 Plot 9, Kampala Road, Mukono. Constructed a commercial building on it in 1998, but this has been changed to Block 530 Plot 9, Jinja Road and the property has been sold to a third party.

In another case, Block 285 Plot 5, Njeru, measuring 480 acres, has been transferred into the names of a company belonging to a former official in the Land office. The same official transferred 243 acres to her company at Kasenge, Mukono.

The list is endless and people who are affected in this way had hoped that the Commission of Inquiry into Land Matters would come to their aid, but unfortunately, the report, which came out recently, is not helpful to them.

Another cause for concern is the activities of a certain European embassy which in a direct interference in the internal affairs of our country is funding a certain non-government organisation to carry out a “reform” of mailo land. 

One of the activities of this NGO is to survey people’s bibanja in Mubende District and issuing them with certificates of occupancy.

The embassy’s activities are illegal and since giving out certificates is not part of its diplomatic mission, preparations for a court action by a  team of lawyers are in advanced stage.

The land the embassy is dealing with form part of the land known as “mailo akenda” or public land of Buganda, which was formally vested in the Kabaka as trustee for the people of Buganda. 

The government should enforce people’s rights as enjoined by the Constitution in order to avoid anarchy were people to do it themselves.

Mr Mulira is a lawyer | [email protected]