A whistle blower has raised dust on how some Wakiso land officers are involved in land dealings in the district which has led to discourse.
Mr Stephen Kabuuye Jingo is allegedly accused of using his position in Government to involve in land matters by related to responsible government Organs and he later sells it at an exorbitant prices!
Shockingly some of the lands in contention are NEMA managed areas. This includes lake shores, wetlands to mention but a few.
The whistleblower alleges that Mr Kabuuye has been cited in several
processing land titles for the NEMA Managed areas.
This has given him powers to lease out NEMA managed areas that are suspected have been acquired mysteriously.
NEMA act on Management of River Banks and lake shores.
“Government or local government shall not lease out or otherwise alienate any river bank and lake shore.”
The legal framework
The Constitution obligates government
to hold in trust for the people and to
protect natural lakes, rivers, wetlands,
forest reserves, game reserves,
national parks and any land to be
reserved for ecological and touristic
purposes for the common good of all
citizens. This is called the public trust
doctrine
The public trust doctrine is echoed in
the Land Act (Cap. 227) that mandates
the government to hold in trust for the
people and protect wetlands for the
common good of the citizens of
Uganda.
The Land Act prohibits the
government from leasing or alienating
wetlands.
The National Environment Act 2019
(“NEA”) defines wetlands as “areas
permanently or seasonally flooded by
water where plants and animals have
become adapted and gazetted as
such”. NEA repealed the National
Environment Act (Cap. 153) and
modified the definition of a wetland by
oddina.
(d) within a period of one year after the expiration or revocation of the permit,
remove or restore the wetland to as near the state it was as possible immediately
before the commencement of the permitted activities.
17. Duty of land owners and users.
(1) Every landowner, occupier or user who is adjacent or contiguous with a wetland
shall have a duty to prevent the degradation or destruction of the wetland and shall
maintain the ecological and other functions of the wetland.
(2) Any person who fails, neglects or refuses to protect a wetland under sub-
regulation (1) commits an offence.
11: Management of River Banks and Lake Shores.
18. Application of this Part of regulations.
(1) This Part shall apply to all river banks and lake shores in Uganda.
(2) The Government or a local government shall hold in trust for the people and protect river banks and lake shore for the common good of the citizens of Uganda.
(3) Government or a local government shall not lease out or otherwise alienate any river bank and lake shore.
19. Objective of this Part of the Regulations is to:
(a) facilitate the sustainable utilization and conservation of resources on river banks and lake shore by and for the benefit of the people and community living in the area;
(b) promote the integration of wise use of resources in river and lakes into the local and
national management of natural resources for socioeconomic development;
(c) give effect to clause 2 of article 237 of the Constitution of Uganda;
(d) provide for the regulated public use and enjoyment of river banks and lake shores;
(e) enhance research and research related activities; and
(f) prevent salutation of rivers and lakes and control pollution or degrading activities.
Different sources have also given us
information that neither Government nor NEMA can do anything to rectify this issue that can result into blood shedding of innocent Ugandans.
On another Note, we have learnt that Ministry of lands has bravely come out to find out how Mr Steven Kabuuye former mayor of Entebbe Municipality can acquire land titles on NEMA Managed Areas and protected zones.
To support this, a senior president adviser went hard on former Entebbe Mayor on how it’s illegal to own land on a lake shore and then sell it . We tried to get in touch with the accused persons by press time but their phones were not available by that time.
