🔊 Nabbanja directed on Njeru Stock Farm grabbing allegations

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KAMPALA - Parliament has directed Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja to intervene in allegations that Internal Affairs Minister Kahinda Otafiire grabbed a government stock farm.

The directive follows Kira Municipality MP Ibrahim SSemujju Nganda on Thursday raising a matter of national importance where he asked Parliament to intervene in the alleged takeover of the Government-owned Njeru Stock Farm in Buikwe district by the minister.

Ssemujju said he could not understand how a minister could claim that the government farm was sold to him because his duty would have been to protect it from encroachers.

However, when public service minister Muruli Mukasa asked Parliament to allow the accused minister to make a personal statement on the matter next week, Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa rejected the request on grounds that such statements are supposed to be initiated by the person affected.

Tayebwa has instead tasked Nabbanja to handle the matter in two weeks and report back to Parliament on the way forward.

Background

On Tuesday, New Vision ran a story about Otafiire evicting the National Animal Genetic Resources Centre and Data Bank (NAGRC&DB) from land hosting Njeru Stock Farm, for which he claims ownership.

During the eviction on Sunday, NAGRC farm manager Carol Wabule was also arrested and detained at Njeru Police Station despite pleas by her family for Police to release her so that she could breastfeed her six-month-old baby.

Njeru Stock Farm is a livestock breeding centre for the Eastern region. It breeds and multiplies high-performing superior dairy and beef cattle, pigs, goats and chicken which are accessed by farmers at subsidised prices.

It also hosts the only liquid nitrogen plant that serves all hospitals in the Eastern region. The farm also hosts the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces regional strategic artillery post that guard the new Nile Bridge.

New Vision Online has learnt that Otafiire claims several sections of the land that has constructed warehouses and a goat structure.

On Monday, animal husbandry, Lt. Col. Bright Rwamirama expressed shock at the actions by his colleague, Otafiire. 

He confirmed that Otafiire had deployed Police officers at the land and they were barring staff from accessing it. He, however, said he had spoken to the Inspector General of Police Okoth Ochola to allow NAGRC staff to use the free land available to graze the animals.

“I am surprised that he (Otafiire) moved that way because I had talked to him and he said he was selling. I told him that you were selling something which is very controversial. The records I have indicate the person who sold you got a fraudulent title,” Rwamirama said.

He urged his colleague, to, “respect the rule of law.

"The law is that even if he bought land, Government has an interest there. You don’t just come and evict. He should have gone to court himself. I have not seen his eviction notice. Why didn’t he serve it to the ministry (of agriculture)? He is a serving minister and using police really reveals a lot about him,” Rwamirama noted.

He said he learnt about the evictions of the ranch when he was at the Entebbe International Airport.  

“Seeing off South Sudan President Salva Kirr. I saw many calls from NAGRC and they told me they had imprisoned the manager and when I asked why, they claimed Otafiire claimed she had trespassed. If they wanted to imprison somebody, why didn’t they come for me? I am here. Poor girl. I spoke to Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja… I didn’t want to bother the President because he has been busy with guests but now that the events are over, on Tuesday (today)  I will get to him,” Rwamirama said.

He said he had spoken to Otafiire about his ownership of government land.

“I talked to my brother Otafiire and I told him it was not good even if he got the land title. You bought it knowing government had interest and we have infrastructure in place. You cannot just come and evict the Government. It is only prudent that we go and see the President. I met one of his lawyers and we agreed that he would say he bought in error not knowing. His lawyer never came back, but for him, he maintains that he has a clean title,” Rwamirama stated.

Otafiire speaks out

In an exclusive interview with New Vision over the matter yesterday, Otafiire said, “Are matters of land regulated by the media or court? Let them go to court.”

Asked about reports that he had ordered the arrest of the farm manager, Otafiire stated: “I don’t know whether she is a manager or not. This is the person I served with an eviction notice. I gave her seven days to quit the farm in November last year. She is still here and claiming she is the manager. Therefore, she is in charge of trespassing. You can’t say you are manager. Managing what in my land?”

He accused the Ministry of Agriculture staff of being so arrogant. “These fellows are so arrogant. Not even replying. Not even a courtesy to say give us two weeks. They just kept quiet.”

Otafiire said he couldn’t have acted the way he did if the NAGRC staff were not arrogant. “It is very annoying and absolute impudence,” Otafiire added.

Asked what was the way forward after it emerged that agriculture minister Frank Tumwebaze and Rwamirama had engaged him over the issue, Otafiire said, “Listen, I don’t want to sell that land to government. I don’t want anybody to say I grabbed government land in order to sell it to them. I clearly told them that, I am not selling land to government at all. It is my land; I have got titles and they should get off my land; simple.”

The farm which was initially 1,099 acres located at Bukaya West Village, in Njeru municipality, is one of the government farms managed by the Ministry of Agriculture.
It is alleged that up to 504 of the total acreage of the farm has been taken over by private individuals, some fraudulently.

In 2019, Otafiire, who claimed ownership of 50 acres of the land, explained that he asked the court to throw the government out of the land because he had secured rights from the original owners after the government failed to pay for its lease.