Last week the Ugandan parliament passed a controversial land bill that was strongly opposed by both the Buganda Kingdom and opposition parliamentarians. The landmark bill passed in less than 90 minutes of intense deliberations that were characterized by shouting matches and walkouts by opposition members. The bill calls for more rights to tenants who occupy land in the Buganda region. It gives them more rights to resist eviction by landlords. Landlords need a court order to evict tenants and must notify them before selling their land. Anyone attempting to evict a tenant in contravention of these rules could face up to seven years in prison.The Buganda prime minister called a press conference the next day to reject the bill.

One of the opposition figures involved in the debate is Erias Lukwago,he is the member of Parliament for Kampala Central,he is also a leading Buganda politician. Before the bill was passed,he walked out of parliament. I reached him in his offices in Kampala where he explains the controversy surrounding this bill.