I have to admit that I was really not up to speed on the the ins and outs of Uganda land rights history or law but I got a taste of what might be coming from EKIMEEZA 08: The town hall style political forum on Friday night. I knew the Land Issue Forum was going to be an interesting event at any rate. It brought together a panel of imminent Ugandan’s who came to Orlando specifically to get the input and feedback of the UG Diaspora on the proposed Land legislation. The forum was moderated by Dr Munini Mulera of Canada and a member of the Ugandan Opposition, FDC, the panel members included: Hon Urban Tibamanya: Minister of Lands and Urban development, Hon Nsaba Butuuro: Minister of Integrity, Mr Joseph Mulwanyammuli Ssemwogerere: former Prime Minister in Buganda, Govt. Lt Kinobe in Uganda Govt, Dr. Ahmed Obedi Bwanika, former Presidential Candidate (he got a standing ovation by the way), Moses Byaruhanga: Presidential Secretary on political issues and Lawrence Kiwanuka: DPUSA Representative. No matter what side of the political fence you sit on you have respect at least that much from both parties.

The political parties are clearly divided into two camps: In one camp the proposed legislation will fill a gap in the current legislation and protect land-owners and on the other camp the legislation is unnecessary and redundant. Everything in the new legislation is already addressed in the unenforced laws already on the books.

The members of the audience however, hold much more complex opinions and raised deeper more deeply entrenched concerns. Here is where the flaws in the current laws are revealed. In the real world experiences and fears of the people who have to live with the consequences of the laws and policies that history and policy-makers have imposed.

We have the audio here for you. So it you are interested in the the ins and outs of the new law under consideration this might give you some insight into Museveni’s position on the law and the opposition parties reasons for opposing this legislation. I found the questions and comments from the audience really thoughtful and on point as to the flaws in the governments approach to the whole topic in general.

The Diaspora has specific concerns when it comes to land rights. Just consider what happened to Abbey when he tried to fulfill his dream of owning a little piece of his own. However it was way more than current challenges that got people’s blood pumping during the Q/A segment. With questions and discussions covering history going all the way back to colonial times, tribal affiliations, family connections, the arrogance of the government, the lack of enforcement and monies to support the programs and laws already in place it is amazing that they managed to keep it at about 3 hours! Here is hoping that the Government and Opposition can find a way to get to a middle ground and listen to the needs of the country and concerns of the entire Diaspora community.

I found Anne Mugisha a consistently intelligent, reasoned voice in often a volatile and emotional conversations, both at the Ekimeeza and during the Land Issue forum. Her questions and observations were clear and thoughtful, while at the same time showing her deep passion for change in the Ugandan government. I had assumed that Ms. Mugisha worked in Uganda for the opposition party, but she is a member of the Diaspora who has not given up her work for change back home.

Listen in to the Forum:

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Sound is not the greatest quality so you may have to turn this up pretty high. Also fairly lengthy so set aside some time and settle in!

UNAA posted supporting documents on their site. Find them here

This post was edited 9/18/08