On behalf of the government, Kiryowa had mediated an out-of-court settlement of Shs 28bn between Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited (UETCL) and the claimants but Mayanja ripped up the deal on grounds that the claimants are fraudsters who allocated themselves title deeds in wetlands.
A source in the cabinet that prefers anonymity said the UETCL clash was just the latest in a series of disagreements between the two figures who always hold parallel views on conten- tious issues, especially Buganda.
“It is disappointing that they don’t see eye to eye yet they have to work together to implement government decisions. The problem is both of them are arrogant and think they know more than the other. This has derailed the enforcement of several government programmes and both sides have their backers,” said the source.
A former long-serving minister who also preferred anonymity says the cabinet is purposely designed to have differing views.
“Before appointing them, President Museveni knew very well that the two lawyers have a history of rivalry. He also knew their roles would clash. So, it is in the president’s interest to al- ways have two warring sides to a key issue,” he said.
Efforts to interview Mayanja and Kiryowa for a comment were futile. They neither picked up nor returned our repeated calls.
BUGANDA QUESTION
Among the key issues, President Museveni promised to tackle after swearing-in for his sixth term as president in 2021 was mailo land, which he described as “very bad” and “evil.”
So, the appointment of Mayanja, a renowned critic of Buganda and mailo land system, was meant to implement the mailo issue but Kiryowa is said to differ with Mayanja’s views and approach.
“In one of the first cabinet sittings, Museveni tasked Kiryowa to assess the mailo land issue and guide cabinet on the way forward,” said the source. “He then presented Kiryowa’s report and gave it to Mayanja for review and critique. Mayanja overhauled most of Kiryowa’s views and the president agreed to implement the Lands minister’s revised version.”
DOES MAYANJA DELIBERATELY UNDERMINE KIRYOWA?
Sources in the cabinet further say that due to the bad blood between the two figures, Mayanja does his work with Kiryowa’s deputy, Jackson Kafuuzi.
“Mayanja’s group is determined to get rid of Kiryowa because they believe they can’t accomplish their major assignment of decimating Buganda kingdom. They say Kiryowa has a soft spot for Buganda because of his forefathers’ closeness to the Buganda establishment,” the source says. “Mayanja regularly holds meetings with Kafuuzi but he never meets Kiryowa.”
As a result, sources say, this has split the attorney general’s office with some staff working for Kiryowa and others for Kafuuzi.
Meanwhile, a source in the Attorney General’s office has intimated that due to this feud, several staff are spying on one another and leaking sensitive documents.
DOES GOVT PLAN TO MAKE KABAKA LANDLESS?
A leaked letter by Mayanja to Kafuuzi details how they should work together to take away Kabaka’s land. Dated July 2021, Mayanja refers to an earlier discussion between the two at State House to suggest the takeover of Buganda’s land because it “is a harbinger to political and security risks.”
In this letter, which is mysteriously not copied to Kiwanuka, Mayanja alleges that Kabaka or his agents [Buganda Land Board] have no mandate to manage official mailo and should thus be converted into public land.
He supports his claims with documents, including laws and agreements right from the 1900 Buganda Agreement to the 1995 Constitution to the Land Act. He opines that the Kabaka should establish a trust to hold land on behalf of the people of Buganda, or else the land should return to the government. He further cites historical injustices which created bibanja holders that are suffering at the hands of landowners, including the Kabaka through Buganda Land Board.
In the letter, Mayanja offers to work with the commissioner of Land Registration, John Karuhanga, to undo the wrongs brought about by these legislations.
“In the absence of an incorporated trust, all the transactions of BLB on official mailo have been illegal with no legal consequence,” he says.
“BLB has no legal existence. It was a mere arm of Buganda constituted to manage the kingdom land and buildings,” Mayanja wrote.
He further dismisses the 2013 agreement between the president and the Kabaka of Buganda over the return of Buganda properties.
“The Traditional Rulers (Restitution of Assets and Properties) Act cap 247 and the subsequent agreement with government lacked legality and legitimacy. Those two documents must be expunged from government records and properties be re-vested in the Uganda Land Commission or district land boards in accordance with articles 238 and 240 of Constitution,” he concludes.
Mayanja further quotes and attaches a dossier by a disgruntled former employee of Buganda Land Board who alleges that BLB is run unprofessionally, that it lacks a proper management structure, and comprises disgruntled staff. This same former staff also alleges that BLB, Nkobazambogo, and People Power “present a potentially disastrous force to the current regime.”
He offers to counter this group with what he calls a team of 100 Buganda Royal Youths not involved in Mengo politics. He also suggests that a fund be put in place to traverse the entire kingdom preaching and promoting economic transformation.
LEGAL PROXY?
Meanwhile, another source in the ministry of Lands claims there is a plot to use a legal maneuver to abolish mailo land. The plan is to have a private suit challenging the legality of the president’s agreement with Buganda to return its assets, mailo land, and BLB.
“A lawyer has been identified and it is just a matter of time before he comes up to petition the Constitutional court to annul those laws and agreements,” the source said.
inarticle} inarticle}