Rejection of IGG report unconstitutional
I was rather astonished by the reports in the media to the effect that President Museveni had purportedly rejected the IGG’s report on the Nakawa/Naguru Estate, in favour of allowing the ‘investors’ to proceed with the eviction of several thousand r
Oloka-Onyango
I was rather astonished by the reports in the media to the effect that President Museveni had purportedly rejected the IGG’s report on the Nakawa/Naguru Estate, in favour of allowing the ‘investors’ to proceed with the eviction of several thousand residents of the area.
It is even more disturbing that this rejection took place in a meeting attended by the Attorney General, several senior government ministers and Permanent Secretaries and by the legal representative of the investors.
Indeed, if these distinguished men and women could not give the President correct legal advice, then the country is really in deep trouble.
In the first instance, where were the representatives of the tenants?
Natural justice demands that both sides should have been heard on such a critical matter, particularly since there were serious allegations made that the transactions leading up to the award of the land to the investors were riddled with fraud.
Secondly, if the President concedes that some government officials had been complicit in the fraud, it is completely unjustifiable to let the matter rest without taking any action against them.
But lastly, and most importantly, under the 1995 Constitution the President has absolutely no powers to direct the IGG to stop an investigation, to reject the report of the IGG, or in any other manner to interfere with the IGG’s operations. Article 227 is very clear on this point.
It states: “The Inspectorate of Government shall be independent in the performance of its functions and shall not be subject to the direction or control of any person or authority and shall only be responsible to Parliament.†The aggrieved tenants should definitely pursue this matter in court.
The writer is the of director, the Human Rights and Peace Centre Makerere University
I was rather astonished by the reports in the media to the effect that President Museveni had purportedly rejected the IGG’s report on the Nakawa/Naguru Estate, in favour of allowing the ‘investors’ to proceed with the eviction of several thousand residents of the area.
It is even more disturbing that this rejection took place in a meeting attended by the Attorney General, several senior government ministers and Permanent Secretaries and by the legal representative of the investors.
Indeed, if these distinguished men and women could not give the President correct legal advice, then the country is really in deep trouble.
In the first instance, where were the representatives of the tenants?
Natural justice demands that both sides should have been heard on such a critical matter, particularly since there were serious allegations made that the transactions leading up to the award of the land to the investors were riddled with fraud.
Secondly, if the President concedes that some government officials had been complicit in the fraud, it is completely unjustifiable to let the matter rest without taking any action against them.
But lastly, and most importantly, under the 1995 Constitution the President has absolutely no powers to direct the IGG to stop an investigation, to reject the report of the IGG, or in any other manner to interfere with the IGG’s operations. Article 227 is very clear on this point.
It states: “The Inspectorate of Government shall be independent in the performance of its functions and shall not be subject to the direction or control of any person or authority and shall only be responsible to Parliament.†The aggrieved tenants should definitely pursue this matter in court.
The writer is the of director, the Human Rights and Peace Centre Makerere University