MEDIA FOR CHANGE NETWORK

Why govt is launching a comprehensive digital land registry

Published

2 months ago

January 31, 2026

RDC Fatumah Ndisaba making enquiries at the MZO-Mukono’s registry desk in 2024. Govt is launching a comprehensive digital land registry

COMMENT | DAVID MUWONGE | Land has historically symbolized wealth and power. In the past, kingdoms expanded their influence by acquiring new territories.

This pursuit continued into the colonial era, spanning the 15th to the 20th centuries, with European powers scrambling for control over Africa. They were driven by a desire not just for human labour but also for large amounts of agricultural land, political power, and the raw materials needed to fuel the Industrial Revolution in the West. As a result, the distribution and management of land became increasingly complex.

In Uganda, the colonial era ushered in the 1900 Buganda Agreement, a turning point in the nation’s land history. Among its key provisions was land reform. It introduced the mailo system at the center of it all. Under this agreement, large estates were divided. About 8,000 square miles were granted to roughly 1,000 chiefs and landowners, establishing a unique land tenure system. These changes have had lasting effects on Uganda’s approach to land ownership and governance.

Over time, this structure evolved into the four land tenure systems recognized by the 1995 Uganda Constitution: customary (traditional communal or family-based ownership), freehold (absolute ownership), mailo (a system with distinct rights for owners and tenants), and leasehold (land held for a fixed term under a lease agreement, often with rent payments).

However, even as the land tenure system evolved by law to include leasehold, controversy persisted, especially regarding government land. This ongoing tension highlights the need to address historical challenges while adapting to modern realities.

This is partly because there is no comprehensive, up-to-date inventory of government land, and the Uganda Land Commission’s limited district presence. Thus, significant tests in managing and protecting government land, making it vulnerable to mismanagement and encroachment.

Recognizing these challenges, the Government of Uganda is now taking decisive steps to modernize land management systems and restore confidence in public land administration. The government is launching a digital land inventory through the Uganda Land Commission, aiming to secure, monitor, and ensure transparent management of all state-owned land.

The Uganda Land Commission (ULC), established under Article 238 of the Constitution, is tasked with holding and managing all land in Uganda vested in or acquired by the state, ensuring it is protected, put to proper use, and fully accounted for.

According to Tom John Fisher Kasenge, a commissioner at Uganda Land Commission, much of the government land has been encroached upon. Government land includes all property managed or held by ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), government schools, health centres, hospitals, police stations, prisons, offices, farms, and army barracks. It also covers land under the National Forestry Authority. ULC is the custodian of this land and holds the titles on behalf of all MDAs.

“This inventory will also go a long way in helping to solve land disputes, wrangles and conflicts that are over land management and ownership in the country,” Kasenge remarked.

“There is a big problem now, as we talk, in distinguishing between land owned by the government and managed by the Commission; land under the Buganda Land Board; and land under the authorities, like the local governments and the cities,” Kasenge added.

“Because of that lack of accuracy in the boundaries and extent of the land and the jurisdiction of each of these bodies.”

The Land Commission’s priority is to create a digitized, accurate inventory of all government land to close information gaps. By bridging the current information divide, this initiative seeks to support proper planning, protect against encroachment, and encourage investment in projects, recognizing land as a vital national resource.

“So, planning for this land becomes very crucial at the moment that the NRM government has attracted a lot of investors, and every now and then, these investors would like to put their projects in various places around the country,” Kasenge observed. This further emphasizes the importance of reliable land records for national development.

With updated digital land records, the Commission expects to resolve disputes, reduce misallocation, and ensure efficient use of public land. These improvements are expected to build greater transparency and accountability in land administration.

Revenue Collection

Many occupants of government land are not paying ground rent largely due to limited awareness and the absence of formalized tenure, a situation that continues to affect national revenue, Kasenge revealed.

He explained that to address this gap, the Uganda Land Commission (ULC) is rolling out a new system that will regularly remind lessees of their ground rent obligations and notify them ahead of lease expiry dates, a move aimed at improving compliance.

Kasenge further noted that correcting erroneous freehold titles will allow affected lessees to regularize their tenure. This will also enable the government to collect due ground rent. He emphasizes that stronger land administration and improved revenue collection are critical to better service delivery and to ensuring government land benefits both the state and citizens.

Currently, ULC has a Financial Year revenue target of UGX 7 billion from ground rent and leases on government land. After the digitized, GIS-enabled (Geographic Information System) inventory is fully rolled out, the Commission expects collections to rise to about Shs12 billion in the first three years. Revenues are projected to gradually increase to as much as Shs40 billion in the long term.

Local governments and technical officers are playing a key role in supporting the nationwide exercise through boundary verification, data sharing and identification of government land. Their contributions include providing physical planning and land-use guidance, protecting environmentally sensitive areas, and engaging communities to raise awareness and build cooperation.

The Land Commission assures the public and current lessees that the inventory exercise is not intended to trigger evictions but is focused on documentation, compliance and improved land governance. Addressing public concerns remains central to the Commission’s approach, with an emphasis on fairness and openness throughout the process.

Uganda Land Commission has formally written to all ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), requesting details of land under their custody and the nomination of focal persons to work with the Commission in developing a comprehensive inventory, a request that has received positive responses.

In addition, the Commission has engaged 16 town clerks from cities and municipalities. It has reviewed its own records and those of the National Land Information System (NLIS), a centralized digital platform for managing national land records, to verify government land details. The Commission has also partnered with the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development (MLHUD) to support the exercise through surveying, valuation, and titling. These collaborative efforts highlight the collective responsibility needed to address longstanding land challenges and a need to strengthen accountability, improve compliance, and enhance management of government land across the country.

As the digital registry project continues, ongoing collaboration among government agencies, local authorities, and the public will be crucial to its success. Sustained commitment and transparent communication will ensure that the benefits of improved land management are realized for all Ugandans.

Source: independent.co.ug

MEDIA FOR CHANGE NETWORK

Ugandan Farmers Sue EACOP in London in Last Minute Effort to Stop Crude Oil Pipeline

Published

6 days ago

April 9, 2026

witnessradio.org

Local farmer Okumu Weke next to an EACOP route beacon in Nyamtai village, Kikuube District in western region of Uganda. Credit: Maina Waruru/IPS

NYAMTAI, Uganda, Apr 3 2026 (IPS) – Environmental activists and farmer groups opposed to the construction of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), the world’s longest heated oil pipeline, are mounting a last-ditch legal effort meant to stop its construction in a suit they plan to have filed in London, UK, believing that it stands a chance to stop the controversial project despite being at the 78 percent completion stage.

The groups have engaged the services of the London law firm of Leigh Day, one of the UK’s leading environmental and public interest litigation firms, which in the past has won landmark compensation cases for northern Kenyan communities affected by unexploded UK military munitions, among others.

With the pipeline construction said to be nearly 80 percent complete, the groups believe their petition stands a good chance of success since EACOP is owned by a company registered at the Companies House in London – the EACOP Ltd.

This is despite the controversial 1,443 km pipeline, principally owned by TotalEnergies with a 62 percent stake, meant to evacuate crude from Western Uganda oilfields to the Indian port of Tanga in Tanzania, which has survived several suits filed in the region and in France and, despite the withdrawal of several would-be financiers, looks all set for completion later in the year, with the first oil exports due in October 2026.

Other owners of the pipeline are the governments of Uganda and Tanzania via the Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC – 15 percent) and the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC – 15 percent), and the Chinese multinational China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC – 8 percent).

The plaintiffs, who include project-affected persons (PAPs) from across Uganda, are buoyed by the support of the global campaign group Avaaz, which in February initiated a fundraising effort to help with costs of the suit, ahead of its expected commencement in May.

They claim that the pipeline will violate rights protected by the Ugandan Constitution, which gives every citizen the right to a clean and healthy environment.

The local farmers allege that the construction and operation of the pipeline will have a material impact on global temperatures with severe consequences both worldwide and in Uganda. Further, they alleged that the pipeline is in breach of EACOP Ltd’s own legal obligations under Uganda’s National Environment Act and National Climate Change Act.

Snaking through Uganda and Tanzania, it will tear through some of the planet’s “most wondrous ecosystems”, carving up elephant sanctuaries, protected forests, and more than 200 rivers.

In addition, the massive infrastructure, also the longest crude oil pipeline in Africa, will result in almost 400 million tonnes of emissions over its lifetime and have a major impact on climate change, they claim.

Besides, they argue that the emissions released by oil carried by the pipeline will ‘materially’ contribute to global warming and fear the impact this will have on them and their livelihoods, as well as on the environment and the health of Ugandans.

EACOP is expected to result in more than 372 million tonnes of CO₂e, or greenhouse gas, emissions—more than 58 times Uganda’s total annual emissions, they contend.

Uganda is particularly impacted by climate change, having already suffered from “record-breaking occurrences of floods, devastating and frequent droughts and erratic rainfall patterns”, according to a report sent by the Ugandan government to the UN, which will only increase as climate change worsens.

“The case is one of a growing number of legal claims seeking to hold global energy companies and infrastructure providers to account for the emissions resulting from their extraction of fossil fuels,” Leigh Day said in a statement.

“Our clients believe the EACOP pipeline will result in enormous damage to the global climate as well as severe damage to their local environment. The EACOP will lead to a huge amount of oil being burnt in a world where the UN has confirmed there are already far more fossil fuels slated for extraction than required if we are to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement, said Leigh Day solicitor Joe Snape, who will represent the group.

The fact that the pipeline is operated and financed by a UK-registered company highlights the role UK corporates often have in fossil fuel extraction projects in the Global South, he added

He further noted, “Our clients are already living on the frontline of the climate crisis and argue this pipeline will only exacerbate the impact they, and other vulnerable communities around the world, experience on their lives and livelihoods. They are calling for the pipeline construction and operations to be halted to stop this damaging impact on the climate in Uganda and elsewhere around the world.”

While around a third (460 km) of the pipeline will run through the basin of Lake Victoria, Africa’s largest lake, local environmentalists warn that a spill or leak could potentially result in catastrophic effects for the lake, which is a vital water resource in the region and a significant source for the River Nile.

The pipeline will also run through and disturb important habitats and nature reserves, including Murchison Falls National Park, the Taala Forest Reserve, and the Bugoma Forest. The pipeline will reportedly disturb around 2,000 square kilometres of protected habitats, impacting rare and endangered species that inhabit them, such as Eastern Chimpanzees and African Elephants.

For its part, Avaaz said its fundraising effort will support the “groundbreaking” court helping expose the environmental abuses and climate devastation that this project will cause. Further, it will help to defend land rights for Indigenous and frontline communities and “continue the quest to protect life on Earth.”

“With help from Avaaz members, communities in East Africa have already fought this project through regional courts — but their case was dismissed on a technicality. This new lawsuit in the UK is the last remaining path to stopping this monster pipeline. Legal experts believe it offers a far better shot at a fair, independent hearing — with a real possibility of success,” the campaign noted.

The group promised to “stage an epic media stunt” around the launch of the court case, increasing pressure on insurance companies to walk away from the project, and support families in Uganda and Tanzania who are fighting evictions, providing cash assistance for food, medicine and other basic necessities.

The USD 5.6 billion project was initiated in 2016 amid delays, resistance, and scrutiny. Over the past two years, EACOP has accelerated, with infrastructure taking shape along its route and at its two key oil fields: Tilenga, awarded to TotalEnergies, and Kingfisher, awarded to CNOOC.

IPS UN Bureau Report

Source: Inter Press Service News Agency

MEDIA FOR CHANGE NETWORK

Minister Cancels Contested 12-Square-Mile Land Title in Mubende

Published

6 days ago

April 9, 2026

witnessradio.org

Residents accuse local leaders and private actors of violent evictions and land grabbing, as the Lands minister intervenes, orders arrests, and revokes a disputed title he says was fraudulently acquired.

The State Minister for Lands, Sam Mayanja, has ordered the cancellation of a 12-square-mile land title in Buweekula South Constituency in Mubende District, declaring that the late Christopher Obeya illegally acquired the land.

The directive followed a stakeholders’ meeting and locus visit during which residents reported alleged impunity by a manager hired by Obeya’s estate, who is accused of overseeing violent evictions, including the shooting of a kibanja holder.

Hundreds of residents from Buweekula South told the minister they had lived on the land for decades but were forcefully evicted.

“We have lived on this land for decades, but we are being treated like strangers. Our homes were destroyed, and some of us were beaten when we resisted eviction,” said Frank Namanya, a resident.

The contested land, located at Block 375, Plot 3, measures 12 square miles and spans three villages—Kibuye Vuga, Njajaazi, and Gogonya. It was originally public land before the Uganda Land Commission issued a title to Erineo Kunobwa and Joseph Yumbe in 1987.

The title was later transferred in 1990 to Musose Mutabiingwa and Francis Katabalwa as tenants in common without being surrendered back to the commission, and was eventually transferred to Christopher Obeya in 2005.

Residents said that following Obeya’s death, his estate administrators hired Andrew Akandwanaho, who, together with private security personnel, allegedly carried out forceful evictions.

“The manager came with armed men and started evicting people violently. One of our people was shot dead for refusing to leave his land,” said Moses Kasumba, another resident.

Locals also accused Mubende District Chairperson Michael Muhereza Ntambi and Resident District Commissioner (RDC) Fred Nayebare Kyamuzigita of owning portions of the contested land, where they allegedly graze cattle, and of failing to address community concerns.

“Leaders who are supposed to protect us are instead using this land for their own benefit, and the district chairperson has cows on this land. They have ignored our cries for help,” Namanya added.

In response, Mayanja directed the District Police Commander in Mubende to arrest Andrew Akandwanaho over alleged unlawful evictions and the reported shooting.

“No one is above the law. I have directed the police to immediately arrest the manager responsible for these illegal evictions and the reported shooting,” Mayanja said.

He further ordered the cancellation of the land title held by the late Obeya, stating that it had been fraudulently obtained and that the land would revert to the Mubende District Land Board.

“This title was obtained fraudulently and cannot stand. The land reverts to the district for proper management in the interest of the rightful occupants,” he said.

The minister also expressed dissatisfaction with the district leadership, accusing them of possible involvement in land grabbing and warning of further action.

“If the district leadership is implicated in land grabbing, they must step aside. I will not hesitate to involve the State House Anti-Corruption Unit,” Mayanja warned.

He further claimed that the district chairperson had sought a private meeting with him under unclear circumstances.

“Why have you been calling me asking for a secret meeting with me?” Mayanja asked during the meeting, drawing reactions from residents.

RDC Kyamuzigita denied the allegations that he owns or grazes cattle on the disputed land.

“I have not even made five months in Mubende, and my cows are in Nyabushozi, so those are allegations,” he said.

He added that he would investigate claims regarding the district chairperson’s alleged involvement.

“Honourable Minister, I did not know whether the chairperson has cows on this land, and I am going to take action on that,” Kyamuzigita said.

Although the district chairperson was present at the meeting, Minister Mayanja denied him the opportunity to respond to the accusations before the residents.

Source: nilepost.co.ug

MEDIA FOR CHANGE NETWORK

Global Peasant Movement calls for action against escalating land grabs and repression.

Published

2 weeks ago

April 1, 2026

witnessradio.org

By the Witness Radio team.

For more than eight years, the landscape of Kiryandongo district in western Uganda has undergone significant changes, shifting from being occupied by local farmers to a violent takeover by multinational companies.

What used to be small farms, homesteads, and community life is now dominated by endless stretches of sugarcane and grain plantations, disrupting local economies and social bonds. Families who once cultivated food and built futures now face displacement, dispossession, and uncertainty about their livelihoods and community cohesion.

“They found us living in peace. Now everything is broken: families, dreams, livelihoods. investors forcibly took away our land.” Benon Beryaija told Witness Radio, recalling the past.

Despite displacement, criminalization, and fear, some land defenders remain steadfast, inspiring the audience to value resilience and collective resistance.

Benon Beryaija, the chairperson of the Kiryandongo land eviction victims, is at the center of the resistance and continues to organize locals despite threats, arrests, and violence.

“The bigger group left, but we remain resolute. “We are defending what belongs to us; our land that was grabbed by multinationals. It is a very hard fight, and it is threatening my life. I have been arrested and tortured for defending my people.”

His experience reflects a broader pattern across Uganda and beyond, where land and environmental defenders increasingly face intimidation, legal harassment, and violence.

The situation in Kiryandongo mirrors a growing global crisis. A global coalition of small-scale farmers and rural movements has issued a strong call for international mobilization against land dispossession, state repression, and what it describes as a growing “neocolonial offensive” targeting rural communities worldwide.

In a statement released ahead of the International Day of Peasant Struggles on April 17, La Via Campesina warned that agribusiness expansion, militarisation, and restrictive trade policies are accelerating land grabs and undermining food sovereignty across continents.

Founded in 1993, La Via Campesina brings together millions of peasants, landless workers, Indigenous peoples, pastoralists, fishers, migrant farmworkers, and rural women and youth, all of whom advocate for food sovereignty and peasant agriculture.

The annual commemoration marks 30 years since the Eldorado do Carajás Massacre in Brazil, where military police killed 21 landless workers during a protest for agrarian reform. The movement says the anniversary is a reminder of “ongoing violence in our territories” and the continued impunity for crimes against land defenders.

Peasant movements warn that land grabbing is being accelerated by agribusiness expansion, extractive industries, and global financial interests often backed by foreign capital and state support.

“They do not come to restore democracy,” the statement reads. “They come to steal the land we cultivate,” accusing multinational corporations and governments of turning land and ecosystems into “speculative assets.”

Recent findings from the Food and Agriculture Organization, in collaboration with the International Land Coalition and CIRAD, reinforce these concerns. Their “Status of Land Tenure and Governance” report estimates that more than 1.1 billion people, about 23 percent of the global adult population, live under constant fear of losing their land or homes within the next five years.

The report identifies commercial pressures as a major driver of land insecurity, echoing concerns raised by peasant movements.

The statement also criticizes global trade systems, particularly agreements negotiated under the World Trade Organization, arguing that they favor multinational corporations at the expense of smallholder farmers.

La Via Campesina has called for agriculture to be removed entirely from WTO frameworks, saying free trade agreements undermine national sovereignty and expose local producers to unfair competition.

“We WARN that the capitalist and neocolonial offensive is not limited to direct violence: neoliberal trade policies are also deadly for rural life. Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), such as Mercosur’s with the European Union and others, are instruments of submission that dismantle national sovereignty to favor transnationals. We reject treating food as a commodity and trade as a weapon; we demand that tariffs be legitimate tools to protect small producers from dumping, not levers of geopolitical coercion wielded by empire.” The statement adds.

Beyond economic pressure, the group reveals what it calls the systematic criminalization of those defending land, water, and natural resources. Across Latin America, Africa, and Asia, activists are increasingly labeled as “terrorists,” arrested, or subjected to prolonged legal battles.

“The capitalist and colonial system that represses and dispossesses our peoples continues unabated to this day, enabling land grabbing, protecting the elites, and criminalizing those who fight for the land through laws and selective judicial processes and other forms of persecution.” The statement from the group mentioned

This trend is evident in many countries, including Uganda, where communities resisting land-based investments, including infrastructure, oil, and plantation projects, have faced arrests, intimidation, and shrinking civic space.

As April 17 approaches, La Via Campesina is calling for coordinated global action from protests and community dialogues to solidarity campaigns.

It is also urging governments to implement international frameworks such as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples to protect land rights and food sovereignty.

“There is no peace without justice. And no justice without resistance and collective action,” the movement sa