Five Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UDPF) soldiers were among 100 Ugandans awarded medals by President Museveni on Heroes Day which was celebrated in Wakiso district. The soldiers were awarded for blocking Justice Catherine Bamugemereire-led land probe from accessing a disputed piece of land in Mbuya that also houses a military installation. The officers including; Sgt. Julius Katuliba (commander of the team), Sgt.David Kyabona, Sgt. Tumusiime Venalenda, Kanyihira Robert and Siraf Igga.
The soldiers were awarded the medals for the ‘exceptional courage and professionalism with which these officers conducted themselves during a scuffle with the head of the Commission of Inquiry into land matters’, according to organisers of the medal awarding committee.
The government spokesperson, Ofwono Opondo, said, “because of the meticulous way they conducted themselves, the President Yoweri Museveni decided to confer on them meritorious awards. “They refused to be disarmed by people who are not their commanders. This clearly proved that the officers had a command,” he said.
The decision by government to award medals to the officers was criticised by some members in the public who argued that the government was trying to undermine justice Bamugemereire and impact of land wrangles in the country but what does that mean to the Chairperson of the land probe and her team?
First some analysts say Justice Bamugemereire failed to observe protocol by wanting to visit the place without clearance from top army officers. Ofwono while commending the soldiers blamed the Commission for trying to access land well knowing they don’t have authority to stand down the security they didn’t command.
An analyst further said Bamugemereire Commission must learn how to work with senior government officials much as the Commission has powers to arrest. In February Bamugemereire had a sharp exchange of words with the Deputy Attorney General Mwesigwa Rukutana, who she felt had been unruly or uncooperative and not giving the commission due respect.
After this, Justice Bamugemereire dismissed Rukutana from the public hearing. Rukutana in his response was that the Commission should “go and hang”, and his later comment to journalists was, “I don’t give a damn”.
Following the above public spat between the two officials, the President of the Uganda Law Society Simon Peter Kinobe condemned the incident, calling for sobriety in land probe. Sections of the public think Bamugemereire sometimes becomes so tough on senior government officials who come to the Commission to give their side of the story.
Tension between Uganda’s judiciary and a commission of inquiry headed by one of the judiciary’s own members further heightened following a new Court of Appeal decision. The appeal judgment refused to stay a huge, court-ordered payout of about Shs9.7 billion to a local pastor and land broker, as ordered by the inquiry, and warned that the independence of the judiciary was at stake if court decisions and orders could be countermanded by a commission of inquiry.
An analyst has written that the unsuccessful application, dismissed with costs, has dealt the attorney general, the commission and the inquiry a significant blow. Outsiders, who had hoped the inquiry would get to the bottom of land-related corruption and fraud, must be feeling increasingly frustrated at the sight of the commission, the inquiry and the courts locked in battle with each other – rather than with the land sharks and embezzlers that the inquiry was intended to uncover.
There have also been spats between Judge Bamugemereire and other members of the judiciary, including the Chief Justice of Uganda Bart Katureebe, over her remarks critical of judges for the role they have been playing in land-related matters. Justice Katurebe felt then that Bamugemereire should have used internal mechanisms of the judiciary to address issues rather than mentioning them in the press.
Bamugemereire, who has led the Commission of Inquiry into Land Matters for the past two years, is living in fear following a suspected attack on her home in Buziga, Kampala, on the night of May 24. It is not clear what the intention of the attack was. However some people say it could be related to her work while other say the attackers might have been mere robbers.
