The government has warned that the growing wave of land-related crimes across the country, caused by unscrupulous land agents, fraudulent transactions, and family inheritance disputes, is increasingly undermining investment confidence and tenure security.
“The trend is mainly being contributed to by unscrupulous land agents, overzealous administrators of estates, forgeries of land transaction documents, absentee landlords and tenants who disregard their obligations, and this has hurt investment and wealth creation, necessitating immediate coordinated intervention,” Ms Nabakooba said.
She explained that many of the disputes occur in high-risk settings such as unregistered customary land, contested ownership, inheritance wrangles, and large-scale land transactions where verification systems are weak, bypassed, or manipulated by actors familiar with legal loopholes.
Despite Uganda’s existing legal safeguards, including Article 237 of the Constitution, the Land Act, the Succession Act, and the Mortgage Act, officials say enforcement gaps continue to be exploited. Data from the ministry’s Sustainable Urbanization and Housing Programme report shows that the level of digitised land services has increased from 45 percent to 82 percent, significantly improving efficiency and reducing delays in service delivery.
The same report indicates that the time taken to conduct a land search has reduced from five days to one day at physical offices, and to as little as five minutes through online platforms. Processing times for land transactions such as transfers and mortgages have also dropped from 15 days to about 11 days, marking progress in service delivery reform.
In addition, systematic land demarcation and certification efforts have expanded, with surveyed land parcels increasing from 66,148 to 469,656. Certificates of Customary Ownership have also risen significantly from 9,325 to 80,898, reflecting government efforts to formalise tenure systems and reduce disputes in customary land areas.
To curb illegal evictions and related abuses, government introduced Administrative Circular No. 1 of 2025, which tightened procedures governing evictions nationwide. The directive requires that no eviction be carried out without the involvement of District Security Committees in consultation with the Ministry of Lands.
“Eviction or demolition shall only be carried out between 8am and 6pm, and no eviction or demolition shall be carried out during weekends or public holidays. Each demolition shall be carried out in a manner that respects and upholds human rights and dignity,” Ms Nabakooba said.
Beyond enforcement measures, the ministry says it is pushing broader reforms aimed at strengthening governance and reducing fraud. These include allowing tenants to deposit nominal ground rent (busuulu) with the Uganda Revenue Authority in cases where landlords are absent or refuse payment, alongside plans to deploy blockchain technology and artificial intelligence in land transactions.
Also mass land titling to resolve boundary disputes is being undertaken. “Government remains committed to ensuring social justice and harmony in land ownership, and all stakeholders must comply with established legal procedures. All Resident District Commissioners should remain vigilant in maintaining law and order,” Ms Nabakooba added.
However, concerns remain about enforcement at district level, particularly in high-conflict areas where vulnerable groups continue to face intimidation and forced evictions. Mr Twaha Ssembalirwa, a legal expert from Atlas Advocates, said the rise in land-related crimes reflects weak enforcement rather than a lack of legislation.
“Uganda has a fairly robust legal framework on land, but the challenge lies in enforcement. Corruption in land transactions is mostly among the big wigs in most of the cases we handle, plus low public awareness, especially among people dealing with customary and unregistered land,” he said.
Original Source: monitor.co.ug
