The Adhoc committee of parliament led by Kaberamaido County Woman MP Veronica Bichetero is currently investigating compensation concerning land in Ndeeba on which a Church structure was razed last year, and the other in Lusanja, Wakiso district where scores of families had been evicted by one Medard Kiconco.
The minister’s Beti Kamya and Persis Namuganza were facing off with the Land Commission boss Beatrice Byenkya Nyakaisiki following a decision by parliament to halt the compensation whose funding had been requested through a supplementary budget.
The ministry of lands has in the past noted that the Land Fund requires an annual allocation of 170 billion Shillings for ten years or a one-off of 1.7 trillion Shillings to compensate over 6,000 claimants.
Baryomunsi says that injecting 1.7 trillion shillings into the Uganda Land Fund will be used to particularly resolve disputes in Central Uganda and Bunyoro sub-region.
This includes Seven billion Shillings, meant for compensating beneficiaries of the Estate of the late Sir Edward Muteesa and an additional 6 billion Shillings for compensating Robert Mwesigwa, the Chairman of the ruling National Resistance Movement NRM party Entrepreneurs League.
Kasaija said he didnt know that the Land Fund needs a special account, saying the Accountant General Lawrence Ssemakula should be in position to explain the continued remittance of compensation money to Uganda Land Commission.
Molly Kamukama, the Principal Private Secretary PPS to the President has today denied giving directives to the Lands Minister Betty Amongi to effect payments from the Land Fund.
Bigirimana explains that following the frustration, he wrote a letter to the secretary of Uganda Land commission Albert Mugumya indicating that he was the legal owner of the said land and wished to dispose it to the government, to enable squatters to acquire titles for the same.
Some of the wrangles have ended in court and others, before the Justice Catherine Bamugemereire-led commission. They include cases of multiple sale of pieces of land, Land grabbing and forceful evictions, all centered on the absence of land titles.
Documents before the Commission show that on November 23rd, 2016, Amongi asked Mugumya to urgently pay out compensation of Shillings 620 million to nine people. Amongi also asked Mugumya in an October 31st, 2016 letter to pay special consideration to two patients.
The summons signed by the Commissions Acting Secretary, Dr. Douglas Singiza requires Amongi to appear before the commission next Monday. The Minister is among others required to respond to allegations that she is involved in the mismanagement of the Land Fund.
Patrick Rubongoya, a member of Isaazi LyAbantu Bakuru Ba Tooro, an elders forum in Tooro, says the matter has been further complicated by the decision by government to return the land titles to kingdoms like Buganda and Tooro. He says the traditional institutions are discovering that the land being returned is just in form of land titles but not in physical form.
The petition, dated May 9, is signed by Professor Edward Rugumayo, the Chairperson of Tooro Elders Forum and addressed to Justice Catherine Bamugemereire, the chairperson of the commission.
Museveni told a campaign rally at Nakawuka parish in Wakiso district this afternoon that with an increase in land wrangles across the country, government will amend the objective of the Land Fund to create resources to buy out land from landowners.
The Auditor General in the year ending June 2011 noted that after nearly 11 years since the Act came into force, the Fund is not operational. This implies that the objectives of the Fund cannot be attained.
