Summary: Though M7and his henchmen like Tamale Mirundi and Kakooza Mutale are encouraging Ugandans to shed the blood of their countrymen because of their property, the killers are shedding innocent blood in vain because, they do not inherit he land of the victim. The killing does not give them ownership!!! The killers are pure and simple, political condoms. FULL stop.
1/4. It is strange that the Monitor editorial [19/08/09]is asking irrelevant questions about the killings of property owners as though the cause of the mob-justice is unknown. The cause is the instigation from the government and its political activists and spokesmen, those who formed “Bibanja self-defence associations”, the ‘land Police’, etc.
2/4. But, as is always the case, the poor are being led into a blind alley. They are being used as “condoms” and the reasons are many. For example, do the Bibanja mobs no know that EVEN IF THEY SHED BLOOD AND MAKE OTHER PEOPLES’ CHILDREN ORPHANS, STILL THIS DOES NOT GIVE THEM THAT SAME LAND? Ownership of land does not transfer to the squatter simply because the owner has died!!!
3/4. Secondly, the original mile-owners are maybe 5% or so of the Buganda population. The rest are secondary buyers, third owners, etc and others are politicians, soldiers, civil servants, etc, who, when they want to evict the squatters, may come with Army platoons and no one will touch them. Only the poor descendant of a landlord, with no political connections, is roasted.
4/4. Lastly, it is now apparent that most of the mobs burning peoples, as though the law allows them to kill {they have been told so, though}, are not even squatters on the land of the victim landlords. It is political activism that some have made killing a pass-time, like Uganda has no state institutions????!!!!
Christopher Muwanga,
Nakasero,Kampala.
Comments
Uganda: Land disputes threaten IDP resettlement in Acholi
Aug 200804By Gloria Laker Aciro
Compiled by Anthony Rwaga
The following story was published in Ugandan newspaper The New Vision on June 15, 2008 and does not necessarily relfect the views of the BBC.
Gulu, Uganda, June 15, 2008 — Fresh conflicts resulting from land disputes are threatening the return of the internally displaced persons (IDP) in the Acholi sub-region. Most IDP’s prefer to remain in camps rather than face beatings and eviction by violent clan and family members.
Gulu District Speaker Ojara Mapenduzi, says the conflicts arise from issues such as greed for money, poverty, and political interference by some leaders in the region, who have no heart for the poor.
IDP returnee family build a new home. Gulu District,
northern Uganda. June 2008. Photo © Paul Kavuma.According to Mapenduzi, the army and religious leaders are also involved in the conflicts. He says “We have a number of land disputes in the rural areas and because of the conflicts, many people are coming back to the IDP camps or are hesitating to have the return exercise carried out,”
In the Amuru district, the majority of the cases are between clans, but in Gulu most cases are between family members, where widows and orphans are suffering when people with money grab land from them.
Local radio community news broadcasts in Gulu are also reflecting the issue of land disputes, with more coverage about land, than other such issue.
Victim speaks out
Beatrice Ajok, 28, is a victim of land conflict. When her father died she claims he left her the family land in Pece Pawell, Gulu Municipality.
However, in 2007, when peace returned in the region, she says her paternal uncle, destroyed their house, and forced her to move.
When her mother spoke about the event on local radio, she claims her Uncle tried to harm her. She says, “One day my uncle tried to cut me with a panga because of my mother’s story on radio. It was my brother who saved me.”
Hope
There is hope that the Land Amendment Bill 2007, will protect customary land owners so that the district land boards will have no power to give away land.
Finally is this the kind of leader we have in Uganda who we should entrust with our lives? I dont think so Museveni must ensure that he cause enough bloodshed that is going to hunt him down as what happenned to Mobutu due to failure to give up power by killing or using force to rig the orinary man off their properties.