Kabale District councillors have rejected a request by the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party to allocate it government land on which to construct district party offices.
The request was tabled by Kabale District NRM Chairperson Bridget Asinga Tumwesigye during a council session held at Rukiiko Hall in Kabale Municipality on Thursday.
While presenting the motion, Asinga, who also represents Kyanamira Sub-county, said NRM Secretary General Richard Todwong had directed district party chairpersons to secure land for the construction of standardised party offices across the country.
She said the move was intended to reduce the party’s reliance on rented premises.
However, the proposal faced resistance from several councillors, led by Tom Ahimbisibwe Kazemera, who represents Northern Division, and Moses Bikorwomuhangi, the councillor for Maziiba Sub-county.
The councillors argued that the NRM should first enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the district to clearly define the terms of the arrangement and prevent possible ownership disputes in the future.
They said that although they subscribe to the NRM, it remains a political party like any other, raising questions about whether other political parties would also be given government land if they made similar requests.
Ruth Arineitwe Sunday, the councillor representing female workers, questioned why the NRM had failed to mobilise funds to acquire its own land instead of seeking government property.
She said proper procedures must be followed because the NRM may not remain in power forever, warning that a future government could accuse the district of favouritism if the land was allocated without clear terms.
Baker Turyamureeba, the councillor representing Kahungye Sub-county, also questioned why the NRM was specifically seeking land at Kikungiri Hill when the district owns land in other areas.
He insisted that an MoU should be signed before the council considers the request.
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Asinga, however, defended the proposal, saying the party was seeking to lease the land rather than acquire ownership. She warned that it would be unfortunate for Kabale District Council to reject the proposal.
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The District Chief Administrative Officer, Robert Mugabe, said his office had received a letter from the NRM headquarters requesting land on which to construct offices.
However, he said the letter was not clear on whether the party wanted to lease the land or have it permanently transferred to its ownership.
Mugabe said there would be no legal challenge if the NRM rented government premises, but warned that permanently transferring the land to the party, particularly to enable it to acquire a land title, would require approval from Parliament and was beyond the mandate of the district council.
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The District Speaker, Flavia Nyinakiiza Kanagyizi, directed the CAO and the LC5 chairperson to conduct further consultations, draft an MoU with the NRM and guide the council on how to handle the matter lawfully before its next sitting.
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The Kabale District NRM office has previously faced eviction threats over unpaid rent.
In October 2016, Paul Bitarabeho, the estate administrator of a commercial building on Plot 155 along the Kabale-Kisoro Road, where the district NRM offices are located, issued an eviction notice accusing the party of failing to pay rent for an entire year.
Bitarabeho also accused the party of failing to empty the building’s toilets as had been agreed.
