Ugandan MP seeks parliamentary review of Shs18m landslide resettlement package
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Budadiri East MP Julius Nakiyi wants Parliament to examine a uniform Shs18 million relocation payment for households leaving landslide-prone parts of Mount Elgon, saying it does not match the land and homes being surrendered.
Budadiri East MP Julius Nakiyi is asking Parliament to scrutinise the government's Shs18 million relocation package for households in landslide-prone areas of the Mount Elgon region, arguing that a uniform payment cannot reflect differences in the land, houses and crops families are being asked to leave.
Government has identified about 13,000 households, representing an estimated 100,000 people in Bugisu, for relocation from highly vulnerable slopes. Each eligible household is offered a one-off Shs18 million payment to buy land in a safer area and establish a new home, while vacated land is expected to be taken over by the Uganda Wildlife Authority and folded into Mount Elgon National Park, with houses on it demolished.
Nakiyi says the support should not be treated as a substitute for valuation and compensation where the state compulsorily acquires privately owned property. He points to Article 26 of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to own property and permits compulsory deprivation only under specified conditions, including prompt payment of fair and adequate compensation before acquisition and access to court.
"Our fundamental position is that relocating people from dangerous areas should not automatically translate into depriving them of ownership of their ancestral land," Nakiyi said, drawing a distinction between the right to own land and the right to use it in any manner one wishes.
Bugisu leaders intend to seek space on the Order Paper through the Speaker's Office to move a motion that would keep the Shs18 million relocation support while requiring proper valuation and fair compensation where government takes over private land. The motion would also propose rules on how vacated land is used and restrictions on settlement in extremely dangerous zones.
The push follows a Cabinet decision on 5 October 2026 to implement the relocation programme. The Office of the Prime Minister has defended the package as a life-saving intervention that will let affected households buy land in safer locations of their choice.