THE LAND ISSUE IN UGANDA: BREWING YET A NEW CONFLICT

Once again Uganda is awash with tensions over the controversial land issue which in fact is brewing a possible bloody conflict in Uganda

For close to six months now, there have been hostile discussions concerning land in Uganda. These as a result of Government’s suggested amendment to the Land Act 2007. The main sticky point to date has been that the fact that Land Amendment Bill seeks to protect tenants from being evicted from land they have lived in by their landlords without the notice of the Minister.

The reason why this is a sticky issue is because it will mainly affect the Baganda who are in the central location and capital of Uganda where the fertile is and where majority of the land is owned under tenancy system. Secondly if this Amendment passes through in parliament, majority of the Baganda risk loosing their land which has been occupied for long time by people from other parts of the country since the land is in the central business region of the country.

The Baganda have not of course taken this lightly. They are up in arms against the current government with the Buganda Kingdom being the central mouth piece of Buganda concerns with some Members of Parliament coming from the Buganda region.

The recent incidents showing the stand off between the government and Buganda Kingdom have been arrests of three Buganda officials who were conducting civic education on the proposed land amendments. The Officials were accused in relation to allegations of acquisition of illegal guns, inciting violence and secretarianism. Since the arrested persons have been critical of the proposed land law, and vociferous in demanding for federo against the declared intentions of the state, their arrest raises eyebrows.

The youth have taken to the streets. Incidents of violence have already broken out from some parts in the central region in resistance to the arrests of the officials and what is believed by the Buganda Kindgom as an affront on the Baganda. This is exacerbating the existing ethnic tensions in Uganda and brewing a possible ethnic clash.