Luweero Peasants Leave Parliament

By Joyce Namutebi OVER 280 peasants from Luweero Triangle, who had pitched camp at Parliament Building demanding payment, agreed to return home yesterday after Parliament intervened in the matter. The 284 claimants, who spent three nights at parliamentary buildings, were paid sh2m as fare to their homes after the committee on presidential and foreign affairs took up the matter. The committee chairman, Dr. Nsaba Buturo (Bufumbira East), assured the claimants that his committee would discuss the matter with President Yoweri Museveni, Premier Apolo Nsibambi, and the Minister for the Presidency, Prof. Gilbert Bukenya “so that the matter is addressed once and for all.” He invited the chairman of the group, Mr. Aloni Mawule, and his team to report to the committee on Thursday to get a feedback. The elderly peasants, both men and women, had since Monday been sleeping in the open. They demanded to be paid for the material contributions to the NRA bush war between 1981 and 1986. The haggard-looking peasants, some with walking sticks, complained that Museveni had assured them that by June this year, their payment would have been finalised. “Since June this year, they have been tossing us. At least the war debt committee chaired by Mr. Deo Iga had tried to assist us. But they were let down by government officials in Kampala,” said Yunusu Kyagaba from Gomba, Mpigi district. Eriab Sempijja, 65, from Namayumba said: “President Museveni himself has no problem. But the officials he assigned to handle our issue are the ones to blame. Some of them are rude and arrogant.” Yoram Kwebuza from Ngoma was equally angry. “Imagine we left our homes, came and slept in the cold weather. But still we could not get paid. During our three-day stay here, we were using the toilets at the CID headquarters and getting cash contributions from Good Samaritan who passed by.” Ends