NRM does not condone land grabbing

By Daudi Migereko

I refer to the article which appeared in one of the local dailies of Thursday, November 19, 2015, page 3, under the head line “Besigye pledges to return all grabbed land to owners”.

I would like to state clearly that the 1995 Constitution stipulates that land belongs to the citizens of Uganda (see Article 273(1)).

The same Constitution prohibits depriving any person of property or any interest in or right over property of any description except where taking possession or acquisition is necessary for public use or in the interest of defence, public safety, public order, public morality or public health (see Article 26(2)(a).

Even in circumstances where the Government is interested in someone’s land, acquisition of the land is made under the law, which makes provisions for prompt payment of fair and adequate compensation, prior to taking possession or acquisition of the property (see Article 26(2)(b)(1)).

The NRM Government has made every attempt and ensured compliance with these Constitutional provisions and the Land Act, Cap 227 and is committed to protecting people’s rights over their land. There is no any other subject matter that has received as much attention from President Museveni and the NRM leadership like the issues of land; save for security and infrastructure.

For about 10 years, the Government carried out consultations on the development of the National Land Policy. These consultations covered and received input from all the critical stakeholders including FDC party, where Dr. Besigye is a leader.

The Land Policy which was approved by Cabinet in February 2013 after a series of Cabinet meetings; all of them, personally chaired by President Museveni seeks to find solutions to historical land injustices in Uganda, land disputes and conflicts, optimal utilization of land, demarcation and titling of land for individuals and communities among other things.

To-date, the Government has acquired a line of credit to assist individuals and communities who are not in position to acquire land titles on their own.

This will ensure that our rural people can meaningfully participate in commercial agriculture taking advantage of credit that requires collateral and hence increasing incomes in rural areas and giving them protection for their land against any would be land grabbers.

Ownership of land titles gives extra security of land tenure and the titles are also an instrument of economic empowerment.

This process is ongoing in several parts of the Country including Busoga where Dr. Kiiza Besigye was addressing the public.

Therefore, the issues of land grabbing being raised by Dr. Besigye have been receiving the necessary attention and are being attended to as per the provisions of the Constitution, National Land Policy and the national laws.

President Museveni, the Ministry of Lands, and the Justice, Law and Order Sector have intervened whenever issues of land grabbing are raised. The record of doing so is available and is within public domain.

Indeed, it would have helped us, if Dr. Besigye came out with the names of land grabbers that he knows, so that they are brought to book. We do not have to wait to handle this matter after elections. The matter is so important that it must be urgently dealt with.

It is a fact that the issues that we must now deal with are those to do with full implementation of the provisions of the National Land Policy.

Government is in the process of rolling out the computerisation of the land registry throughout the country, reinstating land tribunals and appointing more judicial officers to deal with land matters expeditiously.

The Government shall continue to engage with other stakeholders to handle issues of land in the country.

All these matters are well articulated in President Museveni’s Manifesto 2016 which I would interest all of you to take off time to study and get familiar with.


The writer is the Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development