PM Nabbanja refuses 100 acres of freehold land opts to portion off 20 acres off Bulera to establish Bunyoro UniversitY
Hoima – The Prime Minister of Uganda Robinah Nabbanja has reportedly rejected 100 acres of freehold land freely offered by a Good Samaritan in greater Hoima and instead ordered the Governing Council of Bulera Core Primary Teachers College (PTC) to surrender 20 acres out of its 43.6 acres of land for the government to establish a university in Bunyoro.
It’s this seemingly controversial trend that has prompted this publication to probe into the process of land identification for the establishment of a public university in Bunyoro.
Background:
The chase for a university in Bunyoro has been on for a long time. “HRM Gafabusa Solomon Iguru 1st has relentlessly made all efforts to have this dream realized. To demonstrate his commitment, the King reportedly offered 80 acres of Kingdom land in Butebere in Hoima district for purposes of establishing a university in Bunyoro”, says a senior source in the Kingdom.
A source told this publication that the land in Butebere that the King offered was dubiously sold off by a top female politician in Hoima who previously served in the Kingdom as a Minister and her close associates. The King had entrusted her to oversee the establishment of a university in Bunyoro by the Kingdom.
The King envisions that a university would help increase the enrollment of the learners in the region for the university education due to the proximity to the university and affordability by the learners. This would help improve both the quality and quantity of human resource, and thus employability and a potentially economically productive population in the region.
The leadership of Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom and the region’s political elite have reportedly consistently presented the issue of public university in Bunyoro to the government of Uganda as one of the key priority areas.
President Museveni Commits to Establishing a Public University in Bunyoro
You will recall that the National Resistance Movement (NRM) adopted a policy to establish public universities across Uganda’s pre-colonial regions. The goal was to promote equal access to university education for all. This was re-emphasized by a directive in a letter by President Museveni dated January 8, 2018, that the Ministry of Education and Sports should plan to have at least one public university in each sub-region that was recognized as a district of Uganda at independence in 1962. This therefore renewed the hope and urge of the people of Bunyoro to have a public university which dates back to the pre-NRM time.
In his wisdom, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni reportedly suggested that Uganda Petroleum Institute Kigumba (UPIK) be upgraded to serve as a public university in Bunyoro region. It’s said that on several occasions the President told the people of Bunyoro that a public university was soon to be established in Kigumba.
However, this brilliant idea by the President was reportedly opposed by a section of politicians from Hoima arguing that Kigumba was not centrally located in Bunyoro and that a big number of people in that part of Bunyoro aren’t indigenous Banyoro. The refusal by a section of politicians in Hoima to support the President’s idea on Uganda Petroleum Institute Kigumba (UPIK) is one of the reasons for the further delay of establishment of a public university in Bunyoro.
UPIK has since been upgraded to offer internationally accredited petroleum certificates. The President had requested that the university begins at UPIK in his letter to the Minister of Education and Sports.
Bunyoro’s Urge for a University Continues
It’s reported that for many years now, different fora and social media platforms in Bunyoro have been awash with discussions on the need to establish a centrally located Public University in Bunyoro sub-region.
In 2016, discourses on the “Bunyoro Hard Talk” an elite WhatsApp group which is formally registered as “Bunyoro Think Tank”, reportedly resolved that community initiative was needed to complement government as has been the case for initiating many Public Universities in other regions in Uganda.
At that time, Dr. Henry Wamani (PhD) reportedly pledged [informally] on behalf of his family to offer free land totaling to 100 acres with a freehold land title in Buhimba Town Council [Greater Hoima] to host the university’s main campus in Bunyoro. Dr Wamani reportedly did that at his own volition as a God loving citizen who is passionate about university education and the general socioeconomic development of the region.
Government’s response to Bunyoro’s urge for a public university
Parliament reportedly passed a resolution in 2015 to establish a public university in Bunyoro sub-region along with public universities in other regions. President Museveni reportedly pronounced himself on the NRM government’s readiness to establish a public university in Bunyoro region while meeting with key stakeholders from Bunyoro in Masindi district during the 2021 presidential campaigns.
It’s said that the President had Uganda Petroleum Institute in Kigumba as his preferred location for a public university in Bunyoro. However, the stakeholders reportedly raised concern about the need to have a centrally located university to make it easily accessible and affordable by the learners in the region. Additionally, the president was reportedly briefed by the authorities in the ministries of education and sports, energy and mineral development that UPIK is set to be a centre of excellence internationally for the oil and gas training programs and this reportedly made him to approve to the idea of a fresh and central location in greater Hoima.
The President offered Bunyoro region a public university in his letter dated 24th November, 2021 and addressed to the Minister of Education and Sports Maama Janet Kataha Museveni after meeting with a delegation from Bunyoro on the 11th August, 2021.
The offer of the public university by President Museveni was reportedly premised on the availability of land contributed by the community in Bunyoro. Therefore, since its inception, the university Taskforce in conjunction with the local leadership in Bunyoro has been engaged in searching for and verifying suitable land where to locate the university based on a collegiate model. Among the land that is currently available is the 100 acres reportedly offered freely by Canon Dr Wamani Henry.
The President asked the community of Bunyoro to provide government with at least 400 acres of land free of any encumbrance in a central place for the government to establish a university. After the 2021 general elections, key stakeholders in Bunyoro reportedly resolved by consensus to have a collegiate model university with three campuses situated in the three greater districts of Bunyoro and that’s; greater Hoima which comprises of Hoima city, Hoima district and Kikuube district and this was identified as a central location where the university’s main campus (the nucleus) should be established. Other campuses are to be established in greater Masindi comprising of Masindi, Kiryandongo and Buliisa districts and greater Kibaale which comprises of Kibaale, Kagadi and Kakumiro districts.
Land search committee formed
The key opinion leaders in Bunyoro led by Mujwarakondo Dr. Fredrick Kabagambe Kalisa Ateenyi reportedly constituted land search committee in response to the directive by President Museveni calling up on the community of Bunyoro to provide land for government to establish a university in Bunyoro. Dr Kabagambe Kalisa is the former PS Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development and currently serving as SPA on Oil and Gas as well as Chairman of the Royal Commission in Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom.
Other members of the land search committee include Owek Byakutaga Andrew Ateenyi the PM of BKK, Hon. Karubanga Jacob Ateenyi
the Chairperson Bunyoro Parliamentary Caucus and Dr. Patrick Byakagaba Amooti a don [Makerere University] among others.
The committee is said to have traversed Bunyoro in search for the most suitable land and it reportedly discovered that the would-be free land owned by the kingdom was full of encumbrances and that it was practically impossible to find land measuring 100 or even 50 acres that was free of encumbrance. “This implies that there’s no any Kingdom land that’s available that can freely be offered to government to establish a university as all the kingdom land is encroached on,” said a source within the land search committee.
“In Greater Hoima, the only encumbrance free land that we managed to find that can effectively serve the purpose is the land that Canon Dr. Wamani Henry offered to the university,” the source added.
“All members of the committee agreed that Dr. Wamani’s offer is the only available viable option to host the Greater Hoima campus (main campus),” the source concluded.
Land offer by Canon Dr. Wamani Henry (PhD)
It’s reported that Canon Dr. Henry Wamani made an official offer of free land to the government to establish a university in Bunyoro. In a letter seen by this publication, dated October 18, 2022 and addressed to the Chairman (Bunyoro) University Management Committee Prof. Samuel Kyamanywa, Dr. Wamani and his family offered land measuring approximately 100 acres with a freehold land title.
The land is reportedly comprised on Block 18, Plots 25 and 172, land at Kyabatema and Buhimba respectively.
The land is said to be free from any encumbrance and it’s situated in East Ward, Buhimba Town Council in Greater Hoima (Kikuube district).
The land is reportedly situated only 6km from Kasingo, the proposed Headquarters for the Hoima City Council and it’s approximately 20 minutes’ drive from the city center to the land. The land is said to be situated at the triple junction of Kikuube district, Hoima City and Hoima district and it can easily be accessible by the learners from all the districts in the region and neighboring regions.
The tree plantation on Buhimba land
The land reportedly has a five (5) year old pine plantation (Pinus Caribaea) planted on 100 acres that is being professionally well managed and the plantation belongs to Dr. Wamani.
It should be noted that at the time Dr. Wamani first informally offered the said land in 2016, there was a mature plantation which was due for harvesting. It was after a reasonable period of time [2 to 3 years] without any response to the offer that Dr. Wamani took a decision to plant another crop (trees) since commercial tree planting is one of his main business ventures.
However, Dr. Wamani reportedly reaffirmed his offer of land when President Museveni during the presidential campaign in 2021 challenged the community of Bunyoro to provide land for the government to establish a university in Bunyoro.
On 18th October, 2022, Dr. Wamani made a formal offer of the land for the same purpose through a letter addressed to the chairman Bunyoro University Taskforce Prof. Samuel Kyamanywa.
Options given by Dr. Wamani on the Pine plantation on the Buhimba land
This publication reliably established that t has never been Dr Wamani’s intention to sell his trees to the government as a section of the public is falsely alleging and that’s why in his offer he reportedly gave the following options;
Option 1:
- i) The land is available for the university to use as and when the university is ready to make use of it.
This is informed by the fact that the university may not require the entire 100 acres for its initial physical developments.
This implies that the space that may be required for the initial physical infrastructure (say 10-20 acres) can be immediately provided by Dr. Wamani by clearing the area that’s required as the rest of the area is left for the trees to grow to maturity and have them harvested to allow a totally vacant possession by the university.
Option 2:
- ii) Government can evaluate the trees on the land using government valuer and compensate for the trees to enable the university own the plantation as its first enterprise.
The terms for compensation would be discussed and agreed upon between Dr. Wamani and the government through the Ministry of Education and Sports.
In this option, experts that this publication sought opinion from argue that government will not have lost money since the same would be recovered through either the sale of trees (tree products) or carbon credits by the university if the institution chooses to keep the plantation and be a green university.
iii) Dr. Wamani is desirous of transferring the land that he offered into the names of either the University or Ministry of Education and Sports upon signing an MoU on how to handle the trees based on the above stated options.
Bunyoro Starts a University WhatsApp Group
After the 2021 general elections, the people of Bunyoro especially the elite, formed pressure group (Bunyoro University Group). This provided a platform for discourses on Bunyoro university issues using WhatsApp and zoom meetings.
The group generated a memorandum that was handed over to Bunyoro Parliamentary Caucus to be delivered to the President as a follow up on his pledge. In the memorandum, it’s said that the people asked for a collegiate model with at least three campuses in the greater districts of Bunyoro (Greater Hoima, Greater Kibaale and Greater Masindi).
The idea of a collegiate model would reportedly help to have the 400 acres that the president asked for distributed in the different parts of Bunyoro since it proved difficult to find the said acreage in a single piece as free land in Bunyoro. It’s said that this would also help to spread the university infrastructure across the region. The President reportedly agreed to the idea.
President Museveni meets delegation from Bunyoro over Bunyoro University
The President hosted a delegation from Bunyoro led by Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja on the 11th August, 2021 at State House Entebbe.
The delegation went to update the President on the progress so far made in identifying the land for establishing university in Bunyoro. President Museveni had earlier in 2020 during a meeting with key stakeholders from Bunyoro in Masindi tasked the Bunyoro community to provide at least 400 acres for the government to establish a university in Bunyoro.
During the meeting at State House Entebbe, the President reportedly reaffirmed his earlier position that the NRM government already resolved to establish a university of Earth and Applied Sciences in Bunyoro.
He agreed to the idea of a collegiate model university with the main campus in greater Hoima and constituent colleges in greater Masindi and greater Kibaale.
During the meeting, the leaders from Bunyoro reportedly reminded President Museveni to operationalise Bunyoro University after numerous requests to which he responded that they were spearing a dead elephant.
According to Bunyoro leaders, the land for the university has already been acquired in greater Hoima district for the main campus.
Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja reportedly assured the President that Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom has enough land where government can establish Bunyoro University Colleges and that the land was free of any encumbrance.
President Museveni writes to the Minister of Education and Sports about Bunyoro University
President Museveni in a letter dated November 24, 2021 and addressed to Minister of Education and Sports Janet Kataaha Museveni, directed that Bunyoro University be operationalised in the 2022/23 financial year budget. The President also tasked the Minister of Education to set up a committee that will advise government on the courses to be offered.
“The purpose of this letter, therefore, is to request you to plan and budget for the operationalisation of Bunyoro University in the 2022/2023 budget and to set up a committee that will advise government on the courses to be offered,” the letter reads in part.
The President’s directive followed his meeting with Members of Parliament from Bunyoro and academicians led by Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja.
The Minister of Education and Sports appoints Bunyoro University Taskforce
In a letter dated 7th June, 2022, the Minister of Education and Sports Janet Kataaha Museveni appointed Prof Samuel Kyamanywa as Chairperson of the taskforce management committee to establish Bunyoro University as a public university alongside four other members.
“I am pleased to appoint you to serve as the Chairperson of the taskforce management committee to establish Bunyoro University as a public university. You will carry duties under the schedule of vice-chancellor in accordance with universities and other Tertiary institutions Act 2001 as amended”, the reads in part the Minister’s letter dated June 7th, 2022 addressed to Prof. Kyamanywa.
According to the letter, Prof. Kyamanywa was to serve for a period of twelve months starting July 1, 2022, or until he accomplishes the task. The letter further indicates that once the legal process of establishing the university is completed, the appointment of staff will be conducted in accordance with the Universities and Other Tertiary Institutions Act 2001 as amended.
During the national budget speech on June 14, 2022, at Kololo in Kampala, the Finance Minister Matia Kasaija, reportedly allocated Shs2 billion to kick start the process for operationalising Bunyoro University in the financial year 2023/2024.
Effectively, a team of Bunyoro leaders led by Jacob Karubanga, the Chairperson of the Bunyoro Parliamentary Caucus and Kibanda South MP reportedly started traversing the Bunyoro sub-region to identify land where the university’s main campus will be situated.
The achievements of the Bunyoro University taskforce management committee so far
Since the appointment of the Bunyoro university taskforce management committee by the Minister of Education and Sports in June, 2022, the following milestones have been registered:
- i) Academic programs
The Bunyoro University taskforce management committee has so far formulated and submitted nine (9) academic programs to the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) and they include the following:
▪️Bachelor of Science in Petroleum Engineering.
▪️Bachelor of Science in Earth Sciences.
▪️Bachelor of Science in Food Science and Technology.
▪️Bachelor of Science in Value Agriculture.
▪️Bachelor of Science in Data Science.
▪️Bachelor of Science in Information Technology, among others.
- ii) Land Identification for the University
The Taskforce reportedly asked the Ministry of Education to identify and specify land where the respective campuses would be located. This marked the beginning of the land identification/ acquisition exercise by the Ministry.
The exercise was reportedly commenced by technical a team comprising of experts at the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Ministry of Education and Sports and members of the University Task Force.
The technical team reportedly formulated a criterion based on the scientific parameters for qualifying the proposed sites as suitable to host the respective university campuses. They visited all the sites officially offered by property owners/ managers/ administrators in Bunyoro region.
Sites visited include the following:
▪️ Bulera Core PTC in Hoima under the Ministry of Education and Sports, measuring 43.6 acres.
▪️ Land in Buhimba Town Council freely offered by Dr. Henry Waman (PhD), measuring 100 acres and encumbrance free.
▪️ Land at Kayanja in Masindi Municipality measuring 100 acres.
▪️ Land at Kihonda Agricultural Demonstration Farm in Masindi owned by Masindi District Local Government, measuring 100 acres.
▪️Land at Kigumba Cooperative College in Kiryandongo District, measuring 100 acres.
▪️ Land at Birembo Technical Institute (this is a forest reserve).
▪️ Land at CCCC in Kibaale District measuring 6.6 acres.
The exercise proceeded well, all the sites were physically visited and verified by a team of experts and the 3 most suitable sites were selected guided by scientific parameters.
The sites were ranked based on the scores and Buhimba land that was offered by Canon Dr. Wamani reportedly emerged the overall best site in the region and therefore suitable for the university’s main campus in greater Hoima with a score above 80℅ according to the technical report.
Kihonda agricultural demonstration farm in Masindi district reportedly emerged the second best location with a score above 60% as well as the CCCC land in Kibaale district and therefore technically emerged the best locations for the greater Masindi and greater Kibaale campuses respectively.
Bulera PTC location reportedly ranked the last with a score of around 40%. This was reportedly due to the limited size of the land, land ownership conflict (litigations), costly terrain to develop among others.
The Minister of Education Janet Kataaha Museveni reportedly sanctioned a detailed technical verification process on the three best pre qualified locations in the three greater districts of Bunyoro region in her letter addressed to the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development. This included surveying and valuation of the best three locations.
The exercise was reportedly conducted as sanctioned by the Minister of Education and Sports and a comprehensive technical report detailing the findings of the locations was reportedly compiled by a team of experts at the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development and submitted before the First Lady/ Minister.
The technical process was reportedly flowing smoothly ideally to facilitate the decision by the Ministry of Education and Sports before it was reportedly halted on the express orders by the Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja.
It’s said that the Prime Minister summoned an impromptu meeting at OPM in January, 2024 and summarily halted the technical process that had been sanctioned by Janet Kataaha Museveni, and ordered the Ministry of Education to consider Bulera Core PTC in Hoima as a venue for Bunyoro University main campus without fail.
This was reportedly after a section of politicians mainly from Hoima had claimed that they had got over 300 acres of land in Bulera that belong to the government (Uganda Land Commission).
The politicians reportedly through the Bunyoro’s Prime Minister Andrew Byakutaga told the Minister of Education Janet Kataaha Museveni that they had secured 138 hectares in Bulera for Bunyoro University. They reportedly claimed that they were not going to encroach on Bulera Core PTC’s land.
The Attorney General’s Opinion on the 138 Hectares of Land at Bulera
The Ministry of Lands prompted by the letter by the Minister for Bunyoro Affairs reportedly disclosed that the 138 hectares of land in Bulera actually doesn’t belong to government as earlier claimed by a section of politicians from Bunyoro.
The Minister of Lands reportedly replied to the Minister for Bunyoro Affairs, indicating that the land that’s being alluded to belongs to an individual called Yesero Mugenyi according to the available records.
The Minister of Lands reportedly disclosed that Bulera PTC owns only 43.6 acres out of the 138 hectares according to the High Court rulings and the Attorney General’s opinion.
In a letter dated February 15, 2024 by the Attorney General Kiryowa Kiwanuka and addressed to the Secretary Uganda Land Commission, it’s stated that;
“In 2017, Mr. Yesero Mugenyi applied to the High Court for consequential orders and a final decree regarding land on Plots 31 and 32, Block 19 Bugahya, neither required for use by Bulera Primary Teachers’ College and nor valued for compensation in favour of the judgment creditor. The Court allowed his application and ordered among others that:
- i) The 43.6 acres shall be issued to the Respondent for the purposes of Bulera Core Primary Teachers’ College as surveyed by the relevant authority and that the Respondent shall make the requisite application for title to the relevant authority for portion agreed.
- ii) The Applicant is entitled to acquire, free from any further interest by the Respondent, the rest of the land in plots 31 and 32, Block 19 Bugahya which is not part of the 46.3 acres surveyed and demarcated for the said college. “
The Attorney General further states in his opinion that; “In the two judgments delivered by the High Court, the Plaintiff was found to be the rightful owner of the suit land which the Defendant had acquired fraudulently. It was ordered that the Plaintiff should be compensated for the land on which the PTC sits and the rest of the land should be returned to him “.
The Plaintiff in this case is Yesero Mugenyi and the Defendant is Hoima District Local Administration (Government).
The Attorney General further opined that; “The purpose of this letter therefore is to advise that there’s no legal impediment to Mr. Mugenyi’s claim for title over the residual of the suit land and the Commission should liaise with the office of the Registrar of titles to process his title over the same “.
It reportedly turned out that the government is not the owner of the said land at Bulera. This implies that the First Lady Janet Kataaha Museveni was effectively told a lie by a small group of self seeking politicians who conveyed their message through Bunyoro Kingdom’s Prime Minister Owek. Andrew Byakutaga.
This has reportedly put the politicians in Bunyoro in panic mode and they have since resorted to desperate measures including but not limited to coercing the Governing Council for Bulera Core PTC to parcel out 20 acres of the college’s land to accommodate Bunyoro University, leaving the PTC with a paltry 23.6 acres and thus threatening the college’s future expansionary programmes especially at the time when it’s set to become a degree awarding institution with reliable development partners and/ or funders.
This publication reliably established that if the technical process that was sanctioned by the Minister of Education was to be left to continue uninterrupted, all campuses for Bunyoro University would be located at the most suitable locations.
The Majority of the political leaders in Bunyoro do believe in the technical process by the MOES:-
The community of Bunyoro including the majority of the political leaders are reportedly sincerely appreciative of the NRM government’s commitment to the process of establishing a public university in Bunyoro.
The people of Bunyoro do believe that the Ministry of Education and Sports should take full control of the process to establish a public university in Bunyoro as directed by H.E the President and shouldn’t in anyway succumb to the unjustified political blackmail by a small section of self seeking politicians in Bunyoro.
Many political leaders are reportedly either victims of deception by a small clique of politicians or are just being intimidated by the indomitable character of Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja who’s equally a victim of deception.
In summary, the Bunyoro University Taskforce management committee together with the Ministry of Education have so far made tremendous progress in the establishment process of Bunyoro University despite the interference by a section of self seeking politicians in Bunyoro.
Deception derails the process of establishing Bunyoro University
A small section of self seeking politicians in Hoima is reportedly derailing the process of establishing Bunyoro University. The clique has reportedly consistently blackmailed government including the President by claiming that NRM risks losing political support in Bunyoro, if the government doesn’t put the nucleus of Bunyoro university in Hoima city.
For starters, Hoima city has gradually become a political hub for the opposition in Bunyoro region and the places that are being demonized such as Kikuube and Kiryandongo districts vote for the NRM massively.
Incidentally, it’s the same clique that reportedly was opposed to the President’s idea of upgrading UPIK into a public university citing the need for a centrally located university that is now opposed to the idea of establishing the same in Buhimba Town Council that’s even more centrally located in the region let alone the fact that it’s the most suitable location that was reportedly approved to by a technical process that was sanctioned and facilitated by the Ministry of Education and Sports.
The said blackmail is reportedly motivated by the undisclosed political and economic interests of very few politicians and if not challenged, it’s bound to risk the political fortunes of the NRM party in Bunyoro region.
For instance, when the President’s idea of upgrading UPIK was defied on account that Kiryandongo people are not indigenous Banyoro, it angered a big section of the community there that feels discriminated in a place (Bunyoro) they call home and yet the NRM enjoys massive support there.
The same clique has now branded Kikuube a refugee district that shouldn’t deserve to hold anything of significance on behalf of Bunyoro. The populous Kikuube district massively supports NRM and if such a trend is left to go unchallenged, it risks costing NRM of its political support. The clique which is reportedly mainly based in Hoima has perfected itself the art of political blackmail and yet Hoima has gradually become a political hub for the opposition.
“If truly it’s about rewarding political loyalty, how then does Hoima city come before Kiryandongo and Kikuube districts? Where the implied logic here?,” a source wondered.
“That’s a parochial attitude that falls short of the NRM’s principle of non discrimination on account of ethnic identity, creed, gender, political ideology, geographical placement etc and it shouldn’t be allowed any space in modern society that we currently live in,” says a senior source at the NRM’s Secretariat that spoke on condition of anonymity.
“The truth is that the people of Bunyoro would welcome a university in any location in Bunyoro though the idea of central location makes sense for purposes of proximity and affordability by the learners if the politicians were to be true to their words”, says a source in Hoima city.
“If truly the argument was about centrality of the university, then how come the same people who propagated the same idea are now opposed to Buhimba which is more centrally located in Bunyoro than Bulera? Aren’t they playing double standards?,” wondered a source in greater Masindi.
Suspected grand plan to politically destroy Prime Minister Nabbanja
There’s reportedly a small group of politicians (One Male and two Females) in Bunyoro that’s cunningly taking advantage of its close association with the unsuspecting workaholic Prime Minister to rubber stamp their selfish interests in this whole process of establishing university in Bunyoro.
The group has reportedly made a perfect recruit in Nabbanja given her combative and non-compromising character that has reportedly scared away most of the technical people from doing what’s technically right in the process of establishing a university in Bunyoro as sanctioned by the President through the Ministry of Education.
In this whole process, Prime Minister Nabbanja reportedly believes that she is doing the right thing for the good of Bunyoro and the NRM government. The Prime Minister doesn’t seem to know that she’s being hoodwinked by the said clique into rubber stamping decisions that are logically not right and that risk costing the NRM politically in Bunyoro as well as making Bunyoro to potentially settle for a raw deal in her chase for public university.
“Nabbanja holds a very powerful office full of authority in government which makes it difficult for many duty bearers to honestly challenge her especially when she demonstrates lack of willingness to accept technical guidance in this particular case,” says a well placed source.
“As such, all technical persons in this process are silently resigned from doing their technical work that’s required to facilitate the process of establishing a public university in Bunyoro,” the source added.
“All that we do as technical people is to simply approve to whatever the Prime Minister demands. Strangely, it’s the Prime Minister now who offers technical guidance to us the technical people. This has made the process of establishing a public university in Bunyoro quite a unique one and indeed unprecedented,” added a source that preferred to speak on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the matter.
It’s due to the fear of Nabbanja that everyone reportedly seems to be approving to the glaringly unqualified decisions technically, and not even the Ministry of Education under Janet Kataha Museveni has been spared in this particular case.
“From being convinced to tell a lie to the President that Bunyoro Kingdom has the required land for establishing a university in greater Hoima to lying to the First Lady Janet Museveni that the government has 138 hectares of land at Bulera and eventually parceling out 20 acres from Bulera PTC without express permission from the line Minister, Nabbanja’s burning desire to make a positive mark in Bunyoro is seemingly being grossly abused by the self seekers whose ill intentions she’s yet to discover. This is likely to dent her good image before Mzee,” says a senior source in the President’s office.
This publication has established through reliable sources that the clique is reportedly on a well calculated mission to politically destroy the Prime Minister Nabbanja under the guise of helping her to perform in Bunyoro.
Key opinion leaders in Bunyoro hold a Zoom meeting in the wake of gross political interference
On the 14th April, 2024, key stakeholders and opinion leaders in Bunyoro reportedly held a zoom meeting shortly after a controversial decision was taken at the OPM to parcel out 20 acres out of the 43.6 acres of Bulera PTC’s land.
In a meeting that was reportedly summoned by Prime Minister Nabbanja on 4th April, 2024 and also attended by some officials from the Ministry of Education among others, members of the Bulera PTC governing council were compelled to make a resolution that authorized 20 acres of the college land to be given to Bunyoro University. This decision reportedly reduced the college’s land to only 23.6 acres with no room for future expansion.
The decision strange as it was, shocked a bigger section of the community in Bunyoro especially the opinion leaders that were left wondering why Bulera PTC was forced to lose part of its land when there are 100 acres of freehold titled land that was freely offered by Dr. Wamani in Buhimba Town Council just 6 kilometres from Hoima city centre free of any encumbrance.
It’s that concern that reportedly prompted the opinion leaders in Bunyoro to convene a zoom meeting that was chaired by Dr. Paul Kyalimpa who works as the Deputy Executive Director of Uganda Investment Authority.
Other notable opinion leaders that reportedly attended the zoom meeting include Dr. Frederick Kabagambe Kalisa who’s a senior presidential advisor on oil and gas, Chairman Royal Commission in Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom and former Permanent Secretary Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, Dr. Cleophus Mugenyi who’s the Commissioner for Basic Education in the Ministry of Education and a host of Dons (senior university lecturers) and politicians from Bunyoro.
The meeting reportedly resolved that a technical process that was started by the Ministry of Education to identify the most suitable locations for university campuses in Bunyoro be upheld and fully supported by all stakeholders.
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