Buganda Kingdom Lukiiko has directed its Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Apollo Makubuya, to table an interpretation of government's proposed amendment to Article 26 of the Constitution.
The proposed Constitutional Amendment Bill 2017 recently tabled before parliament seeks to amend Article 26 to allow for compulsory acquisition of land by government before settling compensation disputes.
The article in its current form sets conditions for prompt payment of fair and adequate compensation before the compulsory acquisition of property for public use.
But Deputy Attorney General Mwesigwa Rukutana says that the proposed amendment seeks to streamline modalities of acquiring land and compensating people. He also says that the proposed amendment is necessary to resolve the problem of delayed implementation of government infrastructure and investment projects due to land disputes.
However, the Buganda Lukiiko on Monday pushed for an interpretation from the Kingdom's Constitutional Affairs Minister before debating on the matter which was highlighted by Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II in his address while opening the 25th Lukiiko last week.
This decision followed the adoption of a report by the Lukiiko's committee on Land, Agriculture and Environment which recommended that Minister Makubuya presents an interpretation of the proposed amendment currently before parliament.
The same report tabled before the Lukiiko this afternoon by the secretary to the committee, Mitimbo Gonzaga Kagumba, also recommended that the Kingdom's Minister for Lands Martin Kasekende presents a statement on how individuals within the Kingdom can protect their land or even recover it in case need arises.
The committee's recommendation followed its discussion of Kabaka Mutebi's statement in regard to the proposed constitutional amendment.
In his statement, Kabaka Mutebi cautioned that developments on private land should only take off after an agreement between government and land owners.
"This agreement should be fair and when people are fully compensated. Here in Buganda, we have land on which traditional sites are (Etaaka elye'noono) which we think is very important and crucial in the Kingdom and all people of Uganda," Kabaka said.
He says that it would be prudent if there are plans to use this kind of land for the country's development purposes, to negotiate with the owners fairly.
