Africa-Press – Uganda. The fight between Senior minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development Judith Nabakooba, and her junior in-charge of Lands, Mr Sam Mayanja, has taken another twist after it emerged that the duo is conducting parallel interventions into a land dispute in Kyankwanzi District.
Sources close to the Lands docket told the Monitor that the working relations between the two has deteriorated. This newspaper could not independently verify these claims.
Ms Nabakooba yesterday dismissed the allegations and declined to comment on whether she was notified of today’s visit, saying the President had given guidance on the matter.
Daily Monitor understands that the two ministers are conducting parallel land wrangle interventions without consulting each other.
The land is home to more than 5,000 people, who face eviction by unspecified people, who claim to own the property in two sub-counties of Gayaza and Kijuubya – Mbogobbiri.
Mr Mayanja took on the task that Ms Nabakooba has been handling since last year.
Without explaining why he decided to take on a matter that is already being investigated by his boss and the President, Mr Mayanja on Wednesday described the allegations of interferences in his boss’ cardinal as “unfounded”, indicating that those involved in fraudulent land dealings want to derail their work.
“I enjoy working with her [Nabakooba], and if anything, she would have told me. I do not know who is fanning the allegations. My suspicion is it is the people in the conflicts but where is the clash?” he asked.
Mr Mayanja said while his boss follows the President’s advice on the matter, he is passionate about ensuring the people are not evicted.
Daily Monitor understands that the President, on the advice of Ms Nabakooba, had already written to the minister, blocking evictions in Kyankwanzi. The President, in response to Ms Nabakooba’s March 20 letter, advised that the landlady, who happens to be a widow to a fallen General, be paid off and the Bibanja holders settle peacefully.
This is not the first time the ministers are clashing over a land matter.
Early this year, it took Parliament’s intervention into the matter of the Nakawa-Naguru land wrangle that the two ministers were at loggerheads over who should investigate the matter.
This week’s revelation that Mr Mayanja will visit the land in Kyankwanzi to meet the residents to “resolve these issue once and for all”, has sent tongue-wagging among the ministry, with some saying it is a shift from usual procedure.
A letter Daily Monitor has seen from Mr Mayanja addressed to the Residence District Commissioner (RDC) did not have Ms Nabakooba in copy.
Asked about the visit, Mr Mayanja on Wednesday confirmed the visit and tagged it on a petition from the residents.
Mr Mayanja claims that failure to copy in Ms Nabakooba could have been an oversight by new staff. Daily Monitor couldn’t independently verify the claims of a new staff in Mr Mayanja’s office.
“The President has issued guidelines that the Bibanja holders should not be evicted. He has not changed those instructions and that is my focus, that is why I will go there tomorrow [today] to ensure no one is evicted. There is no way you can move to the field without the senior minister knowing,” he said.
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