By Alfred Wasike
Kampala
PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni has called for the Land Act to be amended immediately to stem the suffering caused by illegal evictions across the country.
Addressing about 800 former fighters at the National Leadership Institute in Kyankwanzi on Sunday, Museveni said he was upset about the continued eviction of people, mainly peasants, in the countryside."Enough is enough. There are many complaints about the unfair evictions of bibanja holders everywhere. It is very urgent that we stop this unfairness. It is very urgent that the land law is amended," the President stated, to which the excited audience chorused: "Do something, Mzee! We are tired of the suffering. We are ready to fight alongside you again".
The Land Bill, which is meant to protect tenants from illegal evictions, is being opposed by the Buganda Kingdom, which owns big chunks of land housing millions of tenants.
Museveni said he would not be deterred by people in Kampala who were opposing the Bill.
"Their threats don't scare us at all. By attending this retreat with you, I am even more annoyed. I am very annoyed to discover that the evictions are affecting my fighters as well. This is unacceptable."
He called out some names from the audience. An elderly man stepped forward. "I came here and discovered that Senabulya of Kufu is now living in a muzigo (one room) because he was evicted from his land."
An elderly woman also stood up. "This is the widow of one of our key fighters, the late Kakwaya. He used to give us food like maize. Now his family has been evicted."
Another mzee (elder) rose from the crowd. "This old man, Sserubiri, you see here used to hide us in his forest but now he is homeless."
Accompanied by his wife, Janet, an irate Museveni lashed out at divisive politicians. "The Movement got its strength from unity. We did not behave like Obote and his UPC who thrived on divide-and-rule," he said.
Closing a seven-day reunion on Sunday night, Museveni agreed to establish a revolving fund for former NRA combatants in the Luweero Triangle, who contributed to the guerrilla war which brought him to power in 1986.
"I told the minister for microfinance (Gen. Salim Saleh) to set aside sh1b this financial year for a start. Next financial year, we shall do more."
He urged the veterans to follow up on the disbursements from the central government to finance projects like NAADS (National Agricultural Advisory Services) in the districts.
He amused the former combatants by referring to the Bible. "We did not forget about you. But the time had not yet come. Now is the time. That is what the Bible says in a book written by a wise man called Solomon."
He noted that when the NRM came to power, only sh5b was collected in taxes.
"Now we collect more than sh3,600b. The time has come to look at the quality of life of our ex-fighters. Those who stayed in the army are on a payroll. We need to look at you, people, who went back to your lives in the villages," the President said, triggering off prolonged applause and loud calls for a fourth presidential term.
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