GULU, Uganda — Gen Caleb Akandwanaho, commonly known as Salim Saleh and brother to President Yoweri Museveni, has refuted allegations that he owns “half of Kampala city.”
Instead, he has advocated for a comprehensive national dialogue to address Uganda’s complex land issues. According to Gen. Saleh, the country’s land situation is deeply flawed and contentious, hindering economic progress.
Gen. Saleh, who chairs the Uganda Development Forum (UDF), emphasized at the forum that land remains the most critical factor in production, yet it is often misunderstood and mismanaged.
“When we were sent to the field under Operation Wealth Creation (OWC), we found land to be the most distorted factor of production,” Gen. Saleh stated during his virtual address from his Gulu tactical base at the Fourth Uganda Development Forum in Kampala.
He explained his long-term presence in Gulu was “to avoid the confusion in Kampala.”
Gen. Saleh’s presentation incorporated technical insights from experts, including Amanda Ngabirano, chairperson of the Physical Planning Board, highlighting the necessity of a clear understanding of Uganda’s land use balance sheet.
“Because land is a factor of production,” he emphasized, “Amanda is asking: do we really understand what to do with land to be able to feed our people by 2040, when we shall be 40 million people?” Gen. Saleh cautioned that irregularities in land ownership and usage negatively impact other sectors of the economy.
He disclosed his current efforts to raise funds for a study on land ownership within Kampala. “Everybody thinks I own half of Kampala,” he joked. “I think I own a maximum of two acres.”
The general also alluded to past scrutiny by the Internal Security Organisation (ISO), stating his preparedness due to prior studies on the Namunkekera land in Kapeeka, where he owns the Namunkekera–Liao Shen Industrial Park.
“We know the stimuli that were used to resurrect the economy, security, privatization, liberalization, return of Asian properties, and so on. But I want this conference to focus on land as a factor of production, and to examine these distortions,” he urged the attendees.
Gen. Saleh pointed out that land disputes are not confined to Buganda but are increasingly prevalent in northern Uganda, specifically mentioning the ongoing tensions surrounding the eviction of balaalo (nomadic herders).
“In northern Uganda, the issue is land—the conflict between the Acholi and the balalo, or what we call migrant cattle keepers, is about land,” Gen. Saleh explained.
Reflecting on the decade-long efforts of Operation Wealth Creation (OWC) to uplift Uganda’s “moneyless people,” Gen. Saleh acknowledged the significant challenges encountered.
“We were told to go and look for people who have never touched money,” he said, referring to the initial difficulties in distributing agricultural inputs like coffee and tea seedlings. “Statistically, they say we were able to reduce the population outside the money economy from 68% to about 39%,” he noted.
Gen. Saleh also touched on the recent discussions within the Democratic Party (DP) following reports that DP chairman Norbert Mao had invited him to their upcoming delegates’ conference, a move that reportedly caused unease among some DP supporters. In response, Gen. Saleh reminded the public of the significant presence of DP members in President Museveni’s initial cabinet in 1986.
“Sixty per cent of the ministers were from DP. I’ve been arguing with Chairman Mao about what caused the divorce,” Gen. Saleh recalled. “It happened in 1996 when I was in Gulu. I think Mao caused the divorce, he was like fire back then.” He expressed regret over the eventual separation between the NRM and DP leaders, with whom they had previously enjoyed close collaboration.
“And during those ten years of cooperation, Uganda was registering double-digit economic growth. But after the fragmentation, we encountered a lot of issues,” he stated. He commended Mao for his current involvement in the Uganda Development Forum, referring to him as his “vice-chairperson in think-tanking.”
“We are doing very good work. So I wish him well at his delegates’ conference,” Gen. Saleh added. The NRM and DP entered into a cooperation agreement in 2022, a move that critics suggest primarily benefits Mao and a select group within the DP.
The Uganda Development Forum (UDF), an initiative of Gen. Saleh, includes various experts such as former intelligence chief David Pulkol and Dr Philip Idro.
