{UAH} Nantaba Attacks Police Boss Kayihura
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Bitter: State minister for Lands, Idah Nantaba
A year later, she has discovered that causing the desired changes will take much more than having President Museveni's ear and talking tough.
She still needs to learn how to negotiate the intricate web of political intrigue that is prevalent among senior government officials.
Nantaba this week accused the Inspector General of Police, Gen Kale Kayihura, of fighting her, by issuing contrary decisions in some of the cases she has handled in Kayunga.
"I will not fight with the police. If Kayihura wants to solve land matters, let him do the job. I'm prepared to resign my job so that Kayihura can take over," she told Bukedde TV on Tuesday.
Nantaba, who also chairs a committee that is fighting illegal land evictions, accused Kayihura of siding with rich people in evicting people and called for Museveni's intervention. The clash between Nantaba and Kayihura stems from a long-standing land dispute in Kayunga that has sucked in the president.
Nantaba insists that residents must repossess part of the land owned by Moses Karangwa, an absentee landlord in Kinnamawanga, Garilaya sub-county, at all cost. Nantaba claims that in acquiring the land, Karangwa forcefully evicted many people.
But Kayihura, who also claims to have instructions from the president and has camped in Kayunga for two weeks, detests such method of work. On Friday August 10, he cautioned that land disputes in the district could lead to a bloodbath if not amicably settled.
"There is no free land in Kayunga and in Uganda. One has to buy it," he said.
Efforts to speak to Kayihura were futile as his known phones were switched off. Police deputy spokesman Patrick Onyango said he could not comment about the saga because he did not know the specific instructions Museveni gave Kayihura.
When Museveni visited the district in June, he urged Karangwa and the tenants to reach an agreement. This however seems to have failed. The Nantaba-Kayihura row presents Museveni with a tricky situation because he seems to have confidence and trust in both of them.
Yet having encountered similar scenarios before, Museveni could find a way out. In 2007, when Kahinda Otafiire, then minister of Lands and Environment and the former IGG, Faith Mwondha faced off, Museveni just kept quiet and watched their verbal exchange from a distance.
Bitter medicine
Watching a tearful Nantaba pour out her heart on TV, one would naturally be sympathetic to her, yet the victims of her decisions couldn't be happier, arguing that she had tasted the bitter medicine that she once forced down their throats.
While she still had energy, Nantaba ruffled feathers attracting legal suits that some experts say could cost government billions to settle. On March 4, real estate firm, Zion Construction Uganda Limited, sued Nantaba, alleging that she trespassed on its vast pieces of land in Bulwanyi village, Wakiso district between last year and this year.
Through Ambrose Tebyasa and Company Advocates, Zion alleged that Nantaba colluded with 10 other people and forcefully took possession of the land.
Zion attached the certificates of transfer and land titles as part of the court documents, showing that the various lands were transferred to it from the 10. The firm is demanding damages plus costs of the suit.
Another company rattled by Nantaba's activities is Riss Coffee Limited (RCL), which is embroiled in a land dispute with 43 families in Buikwe district. In May, Nantaba ordered the families to repossess the 158-acre piece of land by force and instructed Caroline Akoth, the Buikwe District Police Commander, to protect the villagers against any eviction. RCL too, has taken government to court.
ekiggundu@observer.ug
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