Museveni meets Bunyoro settlers
Aug 09, 2009
PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni over the weekend met leaders of the non-Banyoro community from Kibaale, Kagadi and Hoima districts. The two groups are embroiled in a protracted ethnic row, with the Banyoro contesting the right for the immigrants (Bafuruki) to o
By Cyprian Musoke
PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni over the weekend met leaders of the non-Banyoro community from Kibaale, Kagadi and Hoima districts.
The delegation, hosted at State House Entebbe, was led by Bugangaizi MP Mabel Bakeine (NRM) and Buyaga MP Barnabas Tinkasiimire (NRM).
State House yesterday announced that the President was also scheduled to meet the Banyoro from the same region to resolve the differences between the two communities by the end of next month.
The two groups are embroiled in a protracted ethnic row, with the Banyoro contesting the right for the immigrants (Bafuruki) to own land or hold political offices in the sub-region.
The President told his visitors that the misunderstandings in Bunyoro should be resolved amicably. He stressed that the Bafuruki and Banyoro should approach one another as Ugandans in order to transform their society.
He assured the delegation that the NRM government was committed to promoting unity and peace in Bunyoro, according to a release from State House.
The Minister for the Presidency, Beatrice Wabudeya, and the principal private secretary to the President, Amelia Kyambadde, attended the talks.
The meeting follows a heated debate over Museveni’s recent letter suggesting several solutions to the conflict.
In the letter of July 15, to Wabudeya and the Cabinet subcommittee on Bunyoro, the President advised that if the land and political rights of the “enfeebled†(outnumbered) indigenous Banyoro are not protected, they risk being overrun by the Bafuruki (settlers).
“This is on top of the old problem of the British colonialists and Mengo sub-imperialists who grabbed land from Banyoro and engaged in a genocide in the region, resulting into the depopulation of the area.
“We, the NRM members, being nationalists and pan-Africanists, cannot undermine our vision and programme by associating ourselves with the vulgarised versions of “national integration,†he wrote.
“Genuine national integration must include scrupulous respect of everybody’s rights to the land of their heritage, politics, and culture. To do otherwise, is, actually, to undermine our vision and programme.
“It is to make the threatened groups resent or even resist, legitimately, our invaluable vision. In any situation, we should always ask ourselves “where is justice in this case?†The NRM must always fight for justice – for just causes. I am not, for instance, a monarchist. The area of Ankole, where I come from, is, obviously, thriving without a monarchy.
“Nevertheless, you remember that I spearheaded the restoration of monarchies in the parts of Uganda that wanted them. This was part of my nationalism and part of my pan-Africanism eventually,†the President wrote.
In the case of Bunyoro, he added, it is clear that the Banyoro are legitimately there because that is their origin. The Bafuruki are also legitimately there because some were settled there by the central government, or, the Late Sir Tito Winyi while others have subsequently bought land from the original Bafuruki, the Banyoro, or the absentee landlords, he noted.
As one of the solutions to the wrangling, the President proposed “ring-fencing†the MP, LC5 and sub-county leadership positions in Bunyoro region for the indigenous people; with the exception of the special constituencies created around Rutete (Lutete) and Kisita resettlement schemes.
The proposals, he said, were in line with Article 9 and 10 of the 1995 Constitution, also envisaged in Article 32, which talked about affirmative action in favour of marginalised groups by reason of history or otherwise for the purpose of redressing any imbalances.
He also proposed that indigenous people that were on Mailo land since 1964 be granted ownership and absentee landlords compensated, and that indigenous people on public land get titles of ownership.
The Bafuruki in the settlement schemes should be given land titles and those who bought land legally should have their rights recognised, Museveni proposed.
PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni over the weekend met leaders of the non-Banyoro community from Kibaale, Kagadi and Hoima districts.
The delegation, hosted at State House Entebbe, was led by Bugangaizi MP Mabel Bakeine (NRM) and Buyaga MP Barnabas Tinkasiimire (NRM).
State House yesterday announced that the President was also scheduled to meet the Banyoro from the same region to resolve the differences between the two communities by the end of next month.
The two groups are embroiled in a protracted ethnic row, with the Banyoro contesting the right for the immigrants (Bafuruki) to own land or hold political offices in the sub-region.
The President told his visitors that the misunderstandings in Bunyoro should be resolved amicably. He stressed that the Bafuruki and Banyoro should approach one another as Ugandans in order to transform their society.
He assured the delegation that the NRM government was committed to promoting unity and peace in Bunyoro, according to a release from State House.
The Minister for the Presidency, Beatrice Wabudeya, and the principal private secretary to the President, Amelia Kyambadde, attended the talks.
The meeting follows a heated debate over Museveni’s recent letter suggesting several solutions to the conflict.
In the letter of July 15, to Wabudeya and the Cabinet subcommittee on Bunyoro, the President advised that if the land and political rights of the “enfeebled†(outnumbered) indigenous Banyoro are not protected, they risk being overrun by the Bafuruki (settlers).
“This is on top of the old problem of the British colonialists and Mengo sub-imperialists who grabbed land from Banyoro and engaged in a genocide in the region, resulting into the depopulation of the area.
“We, the NRM members, being nationalists and pan-Africanists, cannot undermine our vision and programme by associating ourselves with the vulgarised versions of “national integration,†he wrote.
“Genuine national integration must include scrupulous respect of everybody’s rights to the land of their heritage, politics, and culture. To do otherwise, is, actually, to undermine our vision and programme.
“It is to make the threatened groups resent or even resist, legitimately, our invaluable vision. In any situation, we should always ask ourselves “where is justice in this case?†The NRM must always fight for justice – for just causes. I am not, for instance, a monarchist. The area of Ankole, where I come from, is, obviously, thriving without a monarchy.
“Nevertheless, you remember that I spearheaded the restoration of monarchies in the parts of Uganda that wanted them. This was part of my nationalism and part of my pan-Africanism eventually,†the President wrote.
In the case of Bunyoro, he added, it is clear that the Banyoro are legitimately there because that is their origin. The Bafuruki are also legitimately there because some were settled there by the central government, or, the Late Sir Tito Winyi while others have subsequently bought land from the original Bafuruki, the Banyoro, or the absentee landlords, he noted.
As one of the solutions to the wrangling, the President proposed “ring-fencing†the MP, LC5 and sub-county leadership positions in Bunyoro region for the indigenous people; with the exception of the special constituencies created around Rutete (Lutete) and Kisita resettlement schemes.
The proposals, he said, were in line with Article 9 and 10 of the 1995 Constitution, also envisaged in Article 32, which talked about affirmative action in favour of marginalised groups by reason of history or otherwise for the purpose of redressing any imbalances.
He also proposed that indigenous people that were on Mailo land since 1964 be granted ownership and absentee landlords compensated, and that indigenous people on public land get titles of ownership.
The Bafuruki in the settlement schemes should be given land titles and those who bought land legally should have their rights recognised, Museveni proposed.