{UAH} IT'S NO WONDER M7 AND KABKA KEPT THIS DEAL SECRETIVE....LOTS OF SABOTEURS
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Ex-Katikkiro, Dan Muliika says the MoU drags the Kabaka into politics - "illegally"
"As a Muganda, I wouldn't agree to my Kabaka signing any agreement with Museveni because the Kabaka must be neutral. He must not be seen to take sides," Muliika told The Observer on Wednesday.
During the 20th coronation anniversary celebrations on August 3, Museveni made it clear that he signed the MOU with Kabaka and not the Katikkiro, Charles Peter Mayiga. Under the MOU, government agreed to return the kingdom land held by local governments, which formerly served as headquarters for Buganda counties (Amasaza) and sub counties (Amagombolola), and land holding markets.
The government is also understood to have recognized the Kabaka as the sole cultural sovereign over all of Buganda, including the contested counties of Buruuli and Bugerere. The government also promised to pay Buganda Shs 20bn next financial year in rent arrears.
Illegal
However, Muliika said that unless the MOU is tabled in Parliament, it violates the Constitution (Article 246) and the Institution of Traditional or Cultural Leaders Act.
"The MOU doesn't have any legal standing," he said.
Muliika, an advisor to the Kabaka and a former katikkiro, argues that culturally, Buganda works through institutions like the Lukiiko (parliament), which can engage in politics, ultimately shielding the Kabaka. Muliika argues that before undertaking the MOU, Buganda officials should have picked a leaf from history.
He cites the pre-independence talks between Kabaka Edward Mutesa and Dr Milton Obote. Obote reportedly twice met Mutesa in Bamunanika and requested him to become a president, a decision the Kabaka finally accepted after the Lukiiko passed a resolution giving him a go ahead.
Muliika argues that in Buganda, the Lukiiko is a powerful actor—arguing that even during the reign of Kabaka Mwanga, the resolution to execute the Uganda Martyrs was passed by the institution and not Mwanga as a person.
"The agreement in State House wasn't needed at all because these are Buganda property. There was nothing to negotiate. Actually what I expected was Museveni to give an explanation as to why his government has taken long to return the same," he said.
Muliika said that during his tenure as katikkiro, he always emphasised that the "Ebyaffe" must be returned under the Restoration of Assets and Properties Act of 1993 but not negotiations with the central government.
However, government argues that the MOU was signed under Article 246 of the Constitution and the 1993 cultural institutions restitution act, which returned some of the kingdom's assets and also provides for the return of other assets under government possession, after negotiations. Buganda believes that article makes the Kabaka a corporate-sole, a status that makes his agreement with Museveni legally binding.
Way forward
According to Muliika, the right thing to do is to go through institutions like Lukiiko and Parliament but not individuals. He argues that agreements with individuals such as Museveni can't be sustained if another regime takes over.
Muliika said he had no problem with Mayiga's team that visited State House; he insisted, however, that they should have stopped at enjoying Museveni's dinners and not negotiated Buganda issues.
Federo
Now that the central government has pledged to return Ebyaffe, Muliika told The Observer that Buganda demand for a federal system of government, or federo, should be handled transparently in a conference where all regions in Uganda would agree on how to govern the country.
"The regions should meet like they did in 1962 and agree on the way forward. I think in that conference, Buganda would table the federo system of governance demand. Even other regions would table what they want and then a consensus would be obtained," he said.dtlumu@observer.ug
dkiyonga@gma
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"War is nothing but a continuation of political intercourse, with a mixture of other means. Man will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest."
