BUIKWE .
Internal Affairs Minister Gen Kakinda Otafiire has clashed with State Minister for Animal Industry Lt. Col (Rtd) Maj. Bright Rwamirama over the disputed land housing Njeru Stock Farm in Buikwe District.
This comes after unknown armed people descended on the farm on Wednesday evening and loaded 250 cows on five trucks and took them to unknown destination .However, the same cows were in a dramatic move returned to the farm five hours later on Wednesday night ,but some were visibly weak and others may abort ,according to the farm manager ,Dr Carol Wabule .
The intention of taking and bringing back the cows to the farm is still unknown and on whose orders all this was done.
Mr Rwamirama said Gen.Otafiire is responsible for whatever happened at the farm on Wednesday
Gen Otafiire has repeatedly said he lawfully acquired 50 acres on Plot 280 and another 50 acres on Plot 283 off the Njeru Stock Farm land .
“ We are trying to address the issues ,it is really absurd , one of our colleagues is claiming ownership of the farm land ,but he had no eviction order ,but good enough they returned the cows anyway it [incident] was really ugly ,”he said in an interview with Central Broadcasting Services(CBS) on Friday morning .
But Gen. Otafiire shot back, saying the family of late Ham Mukasa decided to evict the cows after government adamantly failed to pay annual nominal ground rent commonly known as Busuulu for 14 years .
“ Let them [Ministry of Agriculture] pay the outstanding debt to Ham Mukasa family . They have been receiving money from government to pay for ground rent ,but it has not been disbursed to the rightful beneficiary , where does that money go? ,let them explain ,” he said
He also supported to move to evict the farm if government cannot meet its obligation.
“ I hear they[Ministry of Agriculture] tried to take the cows to another government farm in Kayunga ,but the workers there refused to open the gate and it is the reason they returned them[cows] to Njeru. I have directed my manager that I don’t want to see those cows on my land ,” Gen Otafiire charged while speaking to the same radio station .
In a letter dated January 2 ,2019 to the Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Agriculture signed by the then Njeru Municipal Council Town Clerk Mr Ambrose Ocen , Njeru Stock Farm has not been remitting ground rent fees for 19 years .
“This is to submit invoice number 631 dated January 2, 2019 in respect of Njeru Stock Farm for the last 19 years in line with the guidance from the Permanent Secretary/Secretary to Treasury in his Circular No.ISS255/432/01 dated March,25 2015,” the letter reads in part .
He said since 2000, Njeru Stock Farm management had not paid nominal ground rent equivalent to Shs 100,000 per acre for 706 acres and the money had accumulated to Shs1.3 billion.
Njeru Stock Farm located at Bukaaya West Village ,is one of the government farms under the National Animal Genetics Resources Centre & Data Bank((NAGRC & DB).It hosts a dairy model farm .
In 2018 , Justice Catherine Bamugemeire-led Commission into land matters started investigating how private individuals acquired land on the Stock Farm.
Ownership of the same land is currently being contested between Ham Mukasa’s family and the family of the late Enock Sebowa.
Ham Mukasa reportedly leased Njeru Stock Farm land measuring 1,099 acres to the colonial government for 99 years.
Prior to 2000 , government was paying nominal ground rent to Ham Mukasa’s family through Njeru Town Council which has since been elevated to a municipality .
Officials from the Genetics Resources Department of the Ministry of Agriculture, say Njeru Stock Farm has a land little and wonder where individuals who claim to possess titles got them from.