Gulu municipality Member of Parliament Lyandro Komakech has warned of dire consequences if the Land Act is amended to allow government takeover strategic privately owned land before completion of compensation of the owners.
Mr Komakech formerly a senior researcher with the Refugee Law Project of the Makerere law school said the proposed amendments will disempower people in northern Uganda.
“We are recovering from war; we need post conflict justice that empowers our community but not one that disempowers them,’’ said the legislator at a press conference at the Northern Uganda Media Club yesterday.
The MP expressed concern that the proposed amendment talks of talks about government taking control of land then negotiating with owners.
“So how would they (government) negotiate? That means that they will be giving you [land owner] at their rate. They will be imposing a price on you. I think the President should be advised to withdraw this new thinking. We should concentrate on wealth creation that is organic and move with the community.’’
The legislator said when the bill is presented before parliament, they will hold public consultations in northern Uganda to get the community’s views.
“We shall hold consultations across northern Uganda and get the views of the people because sometimes these issues might go beyond our representation because we are the representatives [of the people]. Sometimes like in Athenian democracy we may need now the real people to represent themselves,” Mr Komakech said.
The MP said the Constituency Assembly (CA) that promulgated the 1995 constitution had solved the problem of land ownership created by British colonialism.
President Museveni has expressed support for the proposed amendments to the Land Act (1998) saying it is necessary to promote development. According to the president, negotiations between government and land owners have always dragged, sometimes going to court, delaying vital government development programmes.
Speaking at a campaign rally in Omoro last week, President Museveni cautioned leaders in Acholi against misinforming the population on the proposed land amendments. According to the President, the intention of revisiting the 1998 Land Act is to remove the clause which ‘paralyses’ government program.
But MP Komakech warned that if the government pushes people too hard regarding their land ownership rights, there are options within the law.
“If people say land is our only and only, then we shall say what option is left? There are only two things that the United Nations charter also provides. ‘‘South Sudan applied that clause of the UN charter of what we call self-determination. If all goes to the wall and the community says this is our voices, we cannot longer share resources, we may have to share the country,” Komakech warned.
“These are options which are open, the legal framework is very clear. But we are saying let us wait for this text of the amendment and study them technically and have reflection in terms of consultations and public dialogues with our people and then we shall back the voices of our people to the Parliament of Uganda. We are not going to hurry with this process. We want to have it in a very democratic way,” he added.
The proposed amendment has generated mix reactions in the country. In northern Uganda, where the people have for long been suspicious of a government they say is intent on grabbing their land, the proposal has even been received with more suspicion.
