Uganda;Museveni promises to amend land law

NRM presidential candidate Yoweri Museveni addresses journalists at Kisozi state lodge in Gomba District yesterday. PHOTO BY COLLEB MUGUME President Museveni has promised to introduce an amendment to the land law to improve land tenure security and curb the tide in illegal evictions that the current law has failed to stop.
Mr Museveni told a press briefing yesterday in Gomba District that the envisaged amendment will propose that bonafide land occupants pay nominal fees at sub-county offices in cases where landlords decline receiving the rent.

This specific clause, according to Mr Museveni, will allow bonafide land occupants bypass landlords who reject nominal rent and instead resort to court to secure eviction orders.

“If someone refuses to receive rent, it is wrong and we cannot accept this. This is simple common sense. We shall not accept this. Everything must be done within the law. If there is no land tenure security, it can be dangerous to our economy and I cannot associate with that,” Mr Museveni said.

As part of his package to definitively solve the crisis of land evictions that is on the rise throughout the country, but more rampant in Buganda, the NRM presidential candidate has promised to inject more money into the land fund to pay off absentee landlords willing to sell their land to government.

This measure will open up the land to be parcelled out to sitting tenants by government.
The proposed amendments will mark the second time government has moved to alter the legal regimes governing land ostensibly to protect lawful and bonafide tenants from unlawful evictions.

In 2007, Parliament controversially amended the 1998 Land Act to introduce the 2007 Land Bill that was spiritedly opposed by Buganda kingdom that argued that the new law was a ploy to undermine the territorial boundaries of the kingdom.

Complaints
In Gomba yesterday, Mr Museveni said he has been inundated with complaints from lawful and bonafide land occupants being threatened with eviction by landlords.

The President also promised to reach out to the Chief Justice to rein in magistrates whom he accused of issuing what he called irregular eviction orders.

Mr Museveni talked of information pointing to unscrupulous and greedy landlords conniving with magistrates to secure eviction orders from courts of law to dislodge lawful and bonafide land occupants.

He, however, cautioned tenants against illegally invading land and peddling lies against landlords with a hope that they will be protected.

“Government land cannot be illegally acquired. Not even an inch. The people here have requested me to give them a portion of this government land to them so that they set up a trading centre. I have accepted but everything has to be legally formalised,” he said.

Reported by Francis Mugerwa, George Muzoora 
& Ronald Tumusiime