As the row over the re-allocation of the Nakawa/Naguru land among prospective investors deepens, Lands Minister Judith Nabakooba has thrown a spanner in the works, disowning a letter that was written by her junior minister, Sam Mayanja, purportedly on her behalf, asking President Yoweri Museveni to give a green light to the allocations that were contained in the letter.
Nabakooba says that at the time Mayanja wrote the letter, she was out of the country and didn’t give him any instructions to act on her behalf.
In the November 21, 2021 letter, Mayanja asks the president to; “give greenlight to conclude the allocation process.”
“The faster we get this issue of Naguru land out of the way, the better in order to pave way for development of an eco-satellite city as well as getting rid of mushrooming illegal constructions.”
Mayanja goes ahead to tell the president that he was acting on Nabakooba who was out of the country on official duties.
According to Daily Monitor, Nabakooba distanced herself from the letter saying that whenever she delegates responsibility, she puts her instructions in writing.
“My instructions are always on record. I don’t give verbal instructions. How can I give instructions when I don’t even know any of the applicants? I don’t know those people. I didn’t handle that matter.”
“The letter was written in my absence as I had travelled out of the country and I don’t remember instructing anybody to write to the President on my behalf.”
“I don’t instruct other people to write to the President on my behalf. I write my letters. I don’t remember telling anybody to write to the President. Something must be wrong somewhere,” Nabakooba said.
Mayanja who is entangled in the matter yesterday wrote to the Prime Minister asking for “urgent intervention.”
“I was today compelled to urgently intervene in the Nakawa –Naguru wrangles which were becoming violent. I managed to cool down tempers and stakeholders agreed to stop all activities on Nakawa Naguru land for three months effective today to allow government to come up with a win-win solution for all.”
In his letter to the premier, Mayanja called for a meeting between the Ministry of Lands, Uganda Land Commission and the Attorney General.
The Naguru/Nakawa land has been embroiled in controversy for over a decade. In 2007, it was given to Opec Prime Properties that failed to develop it and it was repossessed by government in 2019.
There is a presidential directive to allocate some of the land to Uganda Heart Institute and Virginia Internal Medicine PC. Part of the land has been allocated to investors who are now questioning plans by the lands ministry to revoke the recent allocations.