Museveni is looking for an easy way to buy large plots of land for industrialists

The process of drafting the 1995 Constitution began in 1988 with the appointment of a Constitutional Review Commission chaired by Justice Benjamin Odoki.

The commission conducted surveys and nationwide consultations that formed the basis of the draft submitted to the Constituent Assembly for debate, although some of the proposals, such as a federal form of government, were supported by 65 percent of Ugandans, including 95 percent of the people in Buganda, was later ignored.

This was followed by a debate in the National Resistance Council (NRC) on the 1993 Statute of the Constituent Assembly, which paved the way for the Constituent Assembly (CA) elections in March 1994, which led to the election of the Assembly’s delegates and months of debate.

The promulgation proceedings included a five-minute recital of a legal instrument that CA chairperson Mr James Wapakhabulo said was about to “change the constitutional order of Uganda”.

Wapakhabulo, who later became Speaker of the Sixth Parliament before being appointed national political commissioner and foreign minister, died on March 27, 2004.

The October 9, 1995 edition of the Monitor newspaper captured the mood of the moment.

“The room erupted in cheers and clapping as delegates and NRC members congratulated themselves,” the newspaper reported.

However, it should be noted that leaders of the opposition parties such as Democratic Party (DP) President General Paul Ssemogerere, Adoko Nekyon (DP), Uganda Peoples Congress (UPC) strongmen Cecilia Ogwal, Adonia Teberondwa, Dick Nyai and other supporters of Multi-Party Democracy, who had been delegates to the assembly and had tried to fight for a quick return to multi-party democracy, skipped the ceremony, prompting President Museveni to mock them.

“I have heard that multi-party people are mourning, but for me I feel nothing but jubilation,” Mr Museveni is reported to have told the gathering.

The proponents of multi-party politics had worked together in the CA in the so-called National Caucus for Democracy (NCD).

NCD, whose general secretary was the late Prof. Dani Wadada Nabudere, also rejected proposals to use regular referendums as a means of changing political systems.

As part of the process, three red copies of the new constitution were presented to President Museveni, who kept one of them for the executive branch before handing over a copy to the NRC Chairman Moses Kigongo, who represented the legislative arm of the government, and the Deputy Chief Minister Justice , Justice JC Manyindo, who represented the judiciary.

Although Mr Museveni had previously stated that he was in a celebratory mood, he was quick to point out that he was not happy with Articles 26 and 237 of the new constitution, saying they would prove an obstacle to his efforts to industrialize Uganda , as they do, made compulsory government land acquisition virtually impossible.

“I don’t believe in okuzagira (stagnation). I believe in moving forward and that is why a solution must be found to create land for the industrialization of the country,” Mr Museveni said.

The Constitution, he said, should have made it much easier for the government to acquire land to give away to investors.

“The central government must find it easy to buy large tracts of land to hand over to industrialists and if necessary, compulsorily purchase that land,” Museveni said.

Apparently unhappy that he was not receiving answers to some of his concerns about land acquisition, Mr Museveni then addressed a section of delegates who, however, insisted that the government should be able to buy land like any other party would be interested in purchasing it.

“The last time I heard this talk of buying was that there must be a willing buyer and a willing seller, but suppose there is no willing seller?” Museveni asked testily.

The Monitor newspaper of October 10, 1995 reported that delegates pushed back, saying the position could not change.

“In any case, I consider it a serious oversight. I am disappointed that you did not address this important provision,” Museveni is reported to have said.

Despite raising these concerns, Mr Museveni was quick to describe the 1995 constitution as one that “we (Ugandans) must embrace with enthusiasm. It is a political entandikwa.”

The president said he was at least convinced that the Constitution could be changed.

“From now on, anyone who wants to change something must advocate for it politically,” said the president.

In fact, the Constitution has been amended at least seven times, the most significant being the Constitutional Amendment Act 2017, which resulted in the amendment of Articles 61, 77, 104, 105, 181 and 185; the replacement of Articles 102, 289 and 291; and the insertion of a new article, 289 (A).

The sum total of this was the abolition of the upper and lower age limits for the President and obliged the Electoral Commission to organize general elections in the first 30 days of the last 120 days before the end of the term of office of the President and Parliament or local government. In addition, the term of office of the president, deputies and local councilors was extended from five to seven years, a decision that was overturned by the Constitutional Court.

Other important changes include the Constitution (Amendment) Act 2015, Law No. 12 of 2015, which prohibits the transfer of MPs from one party to another at least 12 months before the end of a parliamentary term and the Constitution (Amendment) (No. 2) Act of 2005, Law No. 21 of 2005, which led to the establishment of the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA); Constitutional (Amendment) Act 2005, Law No. 11 of 2005, which, among other things, resulted in the removal of presidential term limits.

However, the announcement, which began with Mr Museveni laying the foundation stone of the Constitutional Monument at Constitution Square and concluded with a dinner at the Nile Hotel Gardens, could not have ended without Mr Museveni paying tribute to the late former President Apollo Milton Obote, who is in exile lived in Zambia, sharply criticized.

Obote died of kidney failure in a hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa on October 10, 2005, aged 80.

Mr Museveni, who claimed that the 1962 constitutional process backfired due to the lack of a middle class and sectarian ideology, lashed out at Obote, accusing him of disenfranchising citizens.

“Obote has disenfranchised the people of Uganda, over-centralized power and abolished traditional institutions,” he said.

He added that, for example, he would never “fall down and get up again” in front of a three-year-old boy who happened to be a king, “but these people do it not for the boy, but for themselves; It’s their identity, their pride.”

At that time, three and a half year old Kingo Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV had just ascended the throne to become the 12th Omukama of Tooro, succeeding his father, King Patrick David Mathew Kaboyo Olimi III.

Mr Museveni said the new constitution restored the pride of those who believed in cultural institutions and would right the wrongs perpetrated by Obote and Amin.

Museveni, who ended his speech by declaring October 8 Constitution Day, also took time to defend his opposition to a quick return to multi-party politics, arguing that the country’s “social configuration” is one Multi-party politics is not conducive. He said he never gets tired of arguing like that.