MPs fail to block land bill

Feb 05, 2008

<i><b>Karamoja MP’s threat to strip naked flops</b></i><br><br>THE Land Amendment Bill 2007, aimed at protecting tenants against unlawful eviction, was yesterday presented to Parliament amidst protests and heated debate.

Karamoja MP’s threat to strip naked flops

By Henry Mukasa and Barbara Among

THE Land Amendment Bill 2007, aimed at protecting tenants against unlawful eviction, was yesterday presented to Parliament amidst protests and heated debate.

Housing state minister Werikhe Kafabusa tabled the bill in the first sitting after the Christmas recess, which saw an unusually high attendance.

Vice-President Gilbert Bukenya and Prime Minister Apolo Nsibambi, both of the central region where opposition to the bill is the fiercest, were conspicuously absent.

Security minister Amama Mbabazi informed the House that he replaced Nsibambi as the acting leader of government business, without explaining the raison for his absence.

Before the bill was tabled, Speaker Edward Ssekandi struggled to stave off attempts by Dokolo county MP and former minister, Felix Okot Ogong (NRM), to block its presentation.

Okot, armed with the Bible, the Constitution and the Parliament rules of procedure, said he had been sent by his voters to object to the bill.

He argued that the bill needed to be held back until adequate consultation had been done to bring people on board “to avoid polarisation and confusion in the country.”

But Ssekandi interrupted him, revealing that he had promised to give the MP a chance to make comments after the bill had been tabled.

A verbal exchange ensued, with a determined Okot saying he was speaking the truth, touting the Bible, and Ssekandi, with a raised voice, lecturing him.

“Whereas I respect the Bible, I am controlled by the Constitution and the rules,” the Speaker insisted, arguing that, according to rule 27 I, he could not raise objections to a bill before it was tabled.

Amidst excitement from Movement MPs, Minister Werikhe eventually took the floor and performed the ritual of “reading the bill for the first time.”

Okot then made a second shot at the bill, arguing: “There are provisions that directly affect my people. The proposed provision regarding customary land should be deleted.”

But Ssekandi swiftly informed him that it was now too late to block a bill that had already been tabled.

“You are saying the bill should be stayed so that the people are brought on board”, Ssekandi replied. “The bill has been tabled. So the question of staying the bill doesn’t arise.”

Ssekandi then promptly asked the natural resources committee to team up with the legal affairs committee to study the bill and carry out wide consultations, including holding public hearings at venues published in the media.

Okot, seething with anger, quarreled inaudibly, gesticulating and waging his open palm at the Speaker before slumping into his seat resignedly.

The chamber was stirred up. The fully packed NRM side was celebrating round one victory while the opposition was visibly discontented and itching to speak out.

Betty Kamya (FDC) said the Government was proceeding in disregard of the rejection of the bill by most of the regions. But the Speaker reminded her that the place to express her reservations was in the committee.

Hussein Kyanjo (JEEMA) argued that during a Buganda caucus meeting on January 15, attended by the Prime Minister, the Vice-President and the attorney general, it was agreed that loopholes in the bill would be addressed before it was tabled.

“I have discovered today that it’s either useless or risky to consult the Vice-President, the Prime Minister and the Attorney General,” Kyanjo said.

But Ssekandi informed him that, as the Speaker of a national parliament, he was not interested in listening to what was discussed “in your caucuses.” He, however, said he would consider a request made by Alice Alaso (FDC) for Parliament to go into recess to allow MPs consult with their constituency.

Outside Parliament, the agitation by the opposition MPs was high.

“The Government is heading for a failure. This Bill won’t go anywhere. As a member of the Committee that will scrutinise it, I will suggest a referendum, so that they hear directly from the people,” said Patrick Amuriat (FDC).

Karamoja MP Sam Abura Pirir, who had vowed to strip naked to protest the proposed law, eventually did not execute his threat, arguing that his time had not yet come.

“I am waiting to see. If the bill tampers with customary law, I will go ahead,” he warned.

Additional reporting by Chris Kiwawulo and Moses Mulondo

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