CABINET | NABAKOOBA  | WETLANDS 

KAMPALA - The Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Judith Nabakooba, says her ministry is in the process of cancelling titles of land acquired in reserve areas, such as wetlands. 

She said the cancellation was ordered by Cabinet recently. According to the minister, all those involved in the illegality will be prosecuted.

The issue of acquisitions of titles in public reserve areas has bedeviled the country for long, owing to corruption and impunity by some government officials.

In 2018, the Commission of Inquiry into Land Matters in Uganda found out that a total of 562 land titles had been issued in Kinawataka and Namanve wetlands.

The inquiry was led by Justice Catherine Bamugemereire. 

In its report, the commission revealed that a total of 36 land titles issued in the wetlands had resulted in Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited (UETCL) facing challenges in installation of transmission lines on 2015.

However, the report the stated that the purported owners of the land titles had demanded compensation from UETCL.

According to NEMA, Kinawataka and Namanve wetlands are categorized as public reserve areas and are supposed to be kept intact to filter effluent that drains from the neighboring Bugolobi, Mbuya, Kireka and other areas before it pours into Lake Victoria.