Tooro elders want lease of district land halted

Kabarole, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Tooro Elders Forum have asked Kabarole district Local government to halt the leasing of land to an investor. The district council plans to lease the land measuring one and a half acres to an investor for the construction of a school.

Last year, the council resolved that the investor can take the land located in Itaara East Division Fort Portal Municipality under a Private Public Partnership – PPP arrangement and not a lease.

However, in a letter to the district chairman Richard Rwabuhinga, Tooro Elders’ Forum chairperson Professor Edward Rugumayo indicated that they want the lease halted much as it will foster development. The elders also note that they are concerned about land acquisition, ownership, disposal and the injustices that have in history affected the process regarding land management.

“To support the government to protect public land and other properties that are prone to abuse by the trustees, we have taken it upon ourselves to monitor and provide caution to any transaction that raises suspicion and appears to cause loss of public trust,” reads the petition.

According to the elders, the financial year is about to end, the election period is nearing and there is a possibility of leadership changes with the creation of new local governments and therefore any transactions made at this time can cause loss of public property.

The elders want Rwabuhinga to suspend any intended transaction on the land and if he fails, they have threatened to petition higher authorities that are mandated to protect public interests.

But Joram Bintamanya, the councillor representing South Division Fort Portal at the district says that the elders should not interfere in the business of the council. He says that they are waiting for guidance from the Solicitor General and the Ministry of Local Government.

The Mayor Fort Portal Municipality, Rev Willy Kintu Muhanga, says that the district council has never consulted them about the intended partnership. Muhanga adds that according to the plan of Fort Portal Tourism City, the land is even located in a residential area and a school won’t be allowed there.

The Elders forum has been at the forefront fighting against land grabbing, illegal land transactions in Tooro.

In 2017, the Forum petitioned the Land Inquiry Commission to investigate a land transaction between government and Tooro Queen Mother Best Kemigisa. In 2008, the government bought 9,121 acres of land from Kemigisa in her capacity as the registered administrator of the estate of the late King of Tooro Patrick Olimi Kaboyo. The land located in Kibiito sub county cost 4.5 Billion Shillings.

But the elders argue that the transaction was shrouded in controversy since some of the land that was sold to government belonged to individuals and not Kemigisa.

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