UGANDA, Kampala | Real Muloodi News | President Museveni has asked interdicted Uganda Lands Commission (ULC) boss Beatrice Nyakaisiki Byenkya and the Inspector General of Government (IGG) Beti Kamya to meet with him to settle their differences.
In a letter dated October 15 letter, President Museveni writes, “I have received your letter of September 19, 2022, informing me of the battles with your sister, the Inspector General of Government Betty Kamya. By copy of this letter, I direct my lawyer Flora Kiconco, to interact with you and Hon. Beti Kamya and, informally, give me a legal opinion. Thereafter, I would like to meet both of you and discuss this letter war.”
Mr Faruk Kirunda, the President’s Deputy Spokesperson, on Friday confirmed the President’s letter to be authentic.
Conflicts between Beti Kamya and Beatrice Byenkya began in 2021 when Kamya was still Lands Minister.
In a bitter clash while appearing before the Budget Committee of Parliament in February 2021, Byenkya accused Kamya and her deputy, State Minister for Lands Persis Namuganza, of trying to usurp her powers regarding the management of ULC funds. The clash was over the duo’s request to settle a massive compensation to a few landlords, including a controversial USh10.62b to six beneficiaries.
Chairperson Byenkya protested what she described as selective compensation of six landowners with such a huge sum of money, when many more had waited for years to receive compensation from the Land Fund, in vein.
Byenkya had earlier written a letter to Parliament accusing Beti Kamya of not involving her commission in the compensation matter. She said as chairperson of the ULC, she was not privy to information about the beneficiaries and the processes that led to their compensation, despite ULC being the responsible entity for compensations.
However, Ministers Kamya and Namuganza insisted that the six beneficiaries should be considered first since they were cleared by the Ministry of Lands following a presidential directive.
Despite Byenkya’s objections, the dubious payment to the six claimants was made. After which a lengthy investigation ensued, which found the claimants included ghost claimants based on forged documents.
The investigation was carried out by the Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE), which exonerated Byenkya for her involvement in the disbursement of the Supplementary Budget, and called for an inquest and possible prosecution of IGG Beti Kamya and Finance Minister Matia Kasaija.
Prior to the COSASE investigation, after Beti Kamya had risen to the ranks of IGG, she interdicted Beatrice Byenkya from her role as Chairperson of UCC.
The interdiction took place after Byenkya blew the whistle on ULC officials for engaging in corruption and bribery.
Byenkya publicly called for investigations into Uganda Land Commission dealings by writing to the Director of the Bank of Uganda and the Director of the Criminal Investigations Directorate of Uganda Police, proposing investigations into officers of the ULC citing fraud in payments from the Land Fund, fake land titling at ULC, non-compliance with public service rules and regulations, among others.
Consequently, on October 4th 2021, detectives raided the ULC offices in Kampala and arrested four officials.
Following the arrests, on October 12, ULC members accused Byenkya of writing the letters without consulting them beforehand, and called for her interdiction for involving outside agencies instead of dealing with the matter internally. The ULC members passed a resolution condemning Byenkya of misbehaviour, haughtiness, and malice, claiming Byenkya’s actions resulted in damage to the Commission’s reputation and conflict in the institution.
Heeding the ULC member’s calls, In November, 2021, IGG Beti Kamya swiftly instructed Judith Nabakooba, the Lands Minister to interdict Byenkya to open the way for investigations into the misbehaviour allegations.
Hon Byenkya objected, claiming that the minister lacked the right to interdict her because she was not her appointing authority. However, Byenkya was later removed from office by the President himself.
Byenkya has publicly insisted numerous times that Government officials are at the centre of grabbing government land, and that district officials, executives, and members of the land board use their influence and knowledge to connive and get fraudulent land titles in order to get money.
Byenkya further claims that some of these untouchable political figures are working to have her removed from power because they are afraid of being discovered over the public lands they have stolen.
During her interactions with COSASE, Byenkya is said to have exposed the identities of the politicians involved in dubious land deals, including the allocation of Nakawa-Naguru land to several companies who benefitted from the land distribution under irregular circumstances, one of them being Internal Medicine of Virginia.
In one session, Byenkya requested the COSASE chairman Joel Ssenyonyi to ask the journalists to leave the room so she could divulge the identities of the politicians involved.
However, in an unfortunate blow to Byenkya, the COSASE report recommended that owning to the conflict within the ULC, there should be a complete overhaul of the current commissioners to enhance the performance of the institution.
Now it is for the President to decide whether Hon Beatrice Nyakaisiki Byenkya will be rewarded or punished for publicly standing up against the Mafia.