Buganda’s Katikkiro, Charles Peter Mayiga, stated that President Museveni had been misinformed regarding the origin of the Mailo land.
The Katikkiro of Buganda, Charles Peter Mayiga has said President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni was misinformed about the origin surrounding the Mailo land.
Mayiga’s comment comes following recent statements raised by President Museveni concerning the issue of mailo land ownership.
Last month, while the country held its scientific Heroes Day Celebrations, Museveni told Ugandans that the above system of land ownership is not only unfair but also bad and that it should be scrapped out.
However, in an interview with NBS TV, Mayiga said whereas the president holds his perception, the Kibanja system has been in existence since, helping poor locals get access to land cheaply.
Mayiga said although much focus is put on Buganda, the system is also very predominant in regions including Ankole and Toor in addition to others. He said the only difference is that in Buganda’s case the land system operates following articles written in the 1900 Buganda agreement.
“The only difference is that at the inception of the land registration under the 1900 Buganda agreement, the free hold tenure system conditions you to a particular purpose for which that land was being registered in your names. Land is very central, that is reason the clan head is called omutaka, it is in reference to land. That is why the Kabaka is called Sabataka, the head of clan heads. So there is a relationship between land and the way of life of a Muganda,” the Katikkiro said.
Mayiga in addition said the country is faced with several challenges on land, that should first handle rather than spending more time on the Mailo land.
“We have about seven land challenges that government can focus on take an example of land registries, someone who has got money can easily get a certificate of title over your own land, two is the police land unit which is ineffective, three the courts of law, am a lawyer and I know lawyers who have chased land cases for over ten years. Four is population explosion and five is that land has also lost nutrients, then we have a problem of corruption without strong political interference,” Mayiga added.
Meanwhile, in defence of his comment on mailo land recently, President Museveni said the system is a significant obstacle to investment and rural development in addition to product development more so in the central and western parts of the country.
The president also raised the complications that come with acquiring loans for those occupying mailo land.
In the past years, commercial banks would not issue out loans to those using untitled land known as Kibanja, as collateral security but because the banks have diversified, these loans are now given but under strong limits and restrictions on the amount one can borrow.
Other complaints raised circulate the constant eviction of the kibanja owners which follows the Mailo land system. The system creates too many absentee landlords denying peasants.
The land too is also very unfavourable for large-scale economic projects because of the many suitors vying for it even if the law permits it.
