In the last five or so years government kick started compensation of absent landlords in the different parts of the Country from the Uganda Land Fund managed by Uganda Land Commission. A good idea by all standards if it really was meant to correct the past colonial injustice especially in the counties of Buyaga and Bugangaizi which were annexed and incorporated into the district of Mubende together with Buhekura, Buruli, Rugonjo(Isingo), Bulemezi and Bugerere(Bunyala) annexed to Mengo districts.
The insensitive Colonel Henry Colville in 1894 while addressing Buganda Lukiko said he had donated all the Bunyoro Land South of river Kafu to Buganda as a reward for Buganda’s willing assistance to fight Omukama Kabaleega’s Abarusura( those who can tear the enemy into pieces) standing army. Colonel Colville did not officially communicate this illegality to London Home office, which was divulged in 1899 by that time London office said it was too late to reverse. The Governor who signed the 1900 Buganda agreement had nothing much to do to reverse the situation but rather to legalize it.
Historically the Lost counties of Buyaga and Bugangaizi hosted tombs of former Kings (Abakama) of Bunyoro Kitara, a fact which was appreciated by the British evading force and allowed Bunyoro native government to appoint a special and salaried chief (Mugema) to reside in Buganda and look after these tombs in the year 1915. Most tombs of Abakama, Queens and chief Princes (Okwiri’s) among other Royals who died before 1900 are situated in the current Buyaga, Buyanja, Bugangaizi, Isingo, Buhekura, Buruli, Bugerere Bunyala among others Counties annexed to Buganda Kingdom. The Tombs or Royal burial grounds have an important place in the ritual of the dynasty as it is customary for a new Omukama to be crowned at the Tomb of his predecessor. Bunyoro also pointed out that the lost counties are more important to Bunyoro sentiments of Banyoro.
Bunyoro’s several petitions let to the Uganda Relationship commission of 1961 under the leadership of the Earl of Munster which recommended the referendum be held in three of the disputed counties i.e. Buyaga and Bugangaizi (The two counties with the strongest cultural and ethnic ties to Bunyoro) and a third county of Bunyoro’s choice. Neither Bunyoro nor Buganda supported that position. This led to Bunyoro Rukurato on the 15th Oct 1961 passing a resolution which became effective mid night 18th Oct 1961 treating the lost counties as though they had reverted to Bunyoro though this had little practical effect.
The British Colonial secretary Ian Macleod proposed the establishment of a further commission of privy councilors which annoyed Bunyoro delegation and the worked out.
However, the Commission under the leadership of Lord Molson was appointed in Jan 1962 and their report published May the same year after the General elections. The report favoured the transfer of the counties to Bunyoro in exchange for Bunyoro dropping their claim on the remaining five counties. The report did not favour holding of the referendum for fear of further violence.
Buganda and Bunyoro disagreed and the terms of the final settlement were dictated by the new British colonial Secretary Reginald Maudling recommending a referendum be held in Buyaga and Bugangaizi counties only.
The 1964 referendum which became effective January 1965 was meant to redistribute landownership from absentee landlords to local Banyoro.
Unfortunately when the current NRM government went ahead to compensate absentee landlords through the Uganda Land Fund they did not redistribute to indigenous Banyoro but rather to the immigrant communities who were not in Bunyoro when these counties were annexed to Buganda and never participated in the 1964 referendum which returned Buyaga and Bugangaizi lost counties to Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom.
Injustice cannot be solved by creating another injustice. The correct thing to have been done was situation to return compensated land from absentee landlords to the indigenous people or possibly to Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom in trust for the people who were affected by this injustice.
I must say the problem of compensating of absentee landlords and giving them land which was returned to Bunyoro through shading blood is not yet solved.
The partial solution to this problem is giving returning land to Banyoro and Immigrants become tenants of Banyoro that way the communities can co-exist without clashes for the foreseeable future.
