Bunyoro Kingdom and landowners to share oil revenue with government, says Besigye

Dr Besigye campaigns in Masindi town on Friday. Photo by Francis Mugerwa

 

Forum for Democratic Change presidential candidate Dr Kizza Besigye Saturday completed his first leg of his campaign trail in Bunyoro sub-region, promising Bunyoro Kingdom and land owners a share of the revenues from oil extracted from their land.

“It will be a disaster for this country if oil starts flowing when Mr Museveni is still in power,” Dr Besigye said at a rally in Masindi town on Thursday.

Sharing the proceeds from oil has been a hot debate with Bunyoro Kingdom authorities demanding 12.5 per cent of the proceeds.

Cases of land grabbing in the oil-rich districts, especially Buliisa and Hoima, have been documented for years and it is expected to be a big issue in this campaign.
Dr Besigye promised to return all land that has been grabbed to its original owners “and deal with the rest later”.

Once he takes power, he said, he will suspend the issuance of titles on all disputed land, institute an inquiry into the alleged theft and return the stolen land to the rightful owners.

Dr Besigye’s combed Kiryandongo, Masindi and Buliisa districts, skipping Hoima and Kibaale districts for the next round of the campaign trail.

In the last election in 2011, Dr Besigye received 11 per cent of the 413,776 votes from the five districts of Bunyoro, which was way below the 27 per cent he polled nationally. Mr Museveni won the sub-region with 82 per cent compared to the 68 per cent he scored nationally.