The Land (Amendment) Bill 2007, which government has tabled in Parliament, has met with significant opposition from the public, particularly in Buganda.

Bankers, churches, the Law Reform Commission, have also expressed serious concerns about the Bill.
Shop Talk has now learnt that a group of prominent Muslim clerics from Buganda sat at Kibuli Mosque early this year and wrote a strongly-worded letter to President Museveni.
In their letter, the Muslim leaders advised Museveni against pushing ahead with the Bill.

Museveni had in his January 31 letter, responding to an earlier one by one of the Muslim leaders, explained that he was not going to grab people’s land through the Bill as alleged in many Buganda quarters.

“I want to assure you that the NRM Government cannot expropriate anybody’s land. However, we must manage the illegal evictions of tenants who can cause a lot of instability,” Museveni wrote.

Museveni’s letter is addressed to Sheik Abdul Kamulegeya, Chairman of the National Association of Imams and Duats of Uganda.

The Legal Committee of Parliament is about to start consultations after which it will present a report and the Bill to Parliament for its final consideration.

DP top dogs wanted Dr. Bayiga to lose?

Sources within the Democratic Party (DP) indicate that a few top party leaders were not really excited by Dr. Lulume Bayiga’s victory in the recent Buikwe South by-elections.

In fact, the allegation is that they wanted the young man who has increasingly assumed a lot of responsibility in the party, to fail.

Lulume is officially the party’s Assistant Secretary General, but with the substantive Secretary General, Dr. Richard Ebil Ottoo, away in the United States, Bayiga has been serving as substantive Secretary General.

That makes Bayiga and John Ssebaana Kizito, the Party President, DP’s two biggest fish. But the two are known to have developed some differences along the way, particularly on the issue of the Uganda Young Democrats (UYD) leadership.

UYD old guards such as Kenneth Kakande and John Ssebuwufu wanted to remain UYD bosses, even after clearly graduating from youthfulness. Because of that they were opposed to declaring UYD a DP youth wing. And Ssebaana appeared to side with them.

But not Bayiga. The youthful party official convened a conference at Jokas Hotel in Namboole at which DP youth leaders were elected and the UYD ‘disbanded’.
This created a rift between the two, which is yet to be healed.

Thus tongues went wagging when Ssebaana went to Buikwe South to campaign for Bayiga.
It is said that although he campaigned, he never gave Bayiga any money as expected of this wealthy politician-cum-businessman.

Even the DP Parliament caucus led by Isa Kikungwe (Kyadondo South) didn’t help much, Shop Talk has learnt. While the caucus normally gives credible DP candidates facing by-elections Shs 1million, Bayiga was given only Shs 500,000.

DP has eight MPs, which means each MP gave Bayiga Shs 62,500!
Because of all this, observers are wondering whether there was a hidden plan or wish to see Bayiga lose so as to check his rising influence in the Democratic Party.

NRM daily coming soon

The ruling NRM is in the final stages of establishing its own newspaper. The paper, according to reliable sources, will be on streets by the end of the year.

NRM Deputy Spokesman, Ofwono Opondo, is said to have been given the task of delivering this publication.
NRM Chairman, Yoweri Museveni, Shop Talk has learnt, will be a columnist, alongside other senior party leaders such as Amama Mbabazi (Secretary General).

The party is yet to agree on a name for the newspaper, but one of the suggestions so far given is ‘NRM Daily’.
According to our sources, the paper might start small, as a monthly or weekly.