January 01: Bunyoro-Kitara Kingdom protested a move by the lands ministry to cancel a title issued on land alleged to be part of Bugoma Forest Reserve in Kikuube district.

February 11: Lands ministers and the chairperson of the Uganda Lands Commission (ULC) clashed before MPs over sh12.1b meant to compensate a group of six landowners.

February 17: The permanent secretary (PS) Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development was sucked into a 180-acre land dispute in Kabarole district.

February 17: A wrangle erupted between Kampala District Land Board (KDLB) and the Kyambogo University administration over the ownership of 87 acres of prime land adjacent to the university.

February 18: Tension was looming among residents of Rwenjeru South village in Rwenjeru ward, Biharwe, Mbarara city, over what they called a ploy being hatched to evict them from their land.

February 23: City businessman Medard Kiconco asked for sh4b more in addition to the sh3.8b offered by the Government as compensation for his 85-acre land at Lusanja in Mpererwe, Wakiso district.

February 26: The government announced that it would head a joint team to ascertain ownership of the controversial Kyambogo land, where four entities are staking a claim.

March 02: Despite the intervention of then lands minister Beti Kamya, the battle over the ownership of 137.51 hectares of land involving Kyambogo University and Kampala District Land Board (KDLB) went to court. Kyambogo University sued KDLB, Uganda Land Commission (ULC), and the Attorney General (AG), who is the main advisor of the Government, in the Land Division of the High Court in Kampala.

March 25: The Government has so far issued over 20,000 certificates of customary ownership (CCOs) of land in various parts of the country. State minister for lands Persis Namuganza said most certificates are for families where women have been included while others were individual women.

April 01: Beatrice Benkya, said the Kampala District Land Board (KDLB) owns no land in Kyambogo.

April 02: The Solicitor General advised Uganda Land Commission (ULC) to rescind all allocations to various developers of Nakawa-Naguru housing estates that were made before the cabinet decision.

April 23: A senior Police officer was been cited in the illegal eviction and demolition of homes in defiance of a directive issued by the Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development.

May 05: Uganda Land Commission (ULC) officials were asked to account for billions of shillings so far paid to different land claimants for the last three years. The demand for accountability by MPs investigating irregularities in land compensation came after the commission members led by the chairperson, Beatrice Benkya, failed to produce a list of the beneficiaries for the last three years.

May 26: Ten business entities in Kampala moved to block the reopening of the Old Taxi Park to the users, citing breach of contract. They want to take over their land in the periphery of the park as was agreed upon with Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) before reopening. They include Abamwe Transporters, Kabale Distributors, Contractors and Transport Services, DKS Uganda Limited, Key and Ham Investment. Others are Aponye Uganda, Lukyamuzi Investment, City Oil, Shumuk Industries and the Giant Eagle Mobile Phones.

March 15: The High Court in Mbale set June 21 and 24 for the hearing of a case in which businessman Stephen Wobweni sued Budadiri West MP Nandala Mafabi over allegedly grabbing his property, worth sh2b.

July 04: Yesero Mugenyi, a lawyer based in Hoima city was accused of land grabbing from dozens of people who he describes as squatters and encroachers on his land. The land in question is located in Kikwite cell in Hoima city and the neighbouring villages of Kalyabuhire, Bulera, Kyakaliba, Kyamatindigiri and part of Kibati. In a space of three years, two people have died allegedly in relation to the aforesaid land wrangle. Claims of kidnap and malicious damage are also rife.

July 05: Over 600 families from seven villages in Kasanje parish, Kyesiiga sub-county, Masaka district were served with a notice of eviction. The affected villages include Lwemodde, Kasanje, Bamunanika, Lukolo, Bukobe Magere and Kyesiiga.

July 18: Land evictions reportedly increased in over 14 districts as land grabbers take advantage of the lockdown to give tenants sleepless nights.

July 26: The review process of the proposed land amendments kicked off. Although the lands ministry remains tightlipped on the particulars of the proposed reforms in the Land Act, the minister, Judith Nabakooba indicated that the reforms do not only target the land sector, but also urbanisation and housing sectors.

August 02: The lands minister, Judith Nabakooba, rooted for a national land call centre, saying it will restore public confidence in the Government’s commitment to fight land grabbing and evictions.

Judith Nabakooba

August 13: The Buganda Land Board (BLB) was embroiled in a legal battle with businessman Charles Mugema over a prime piece of land in Mengo, Kampala. The land under contention is comprised in LRV 456 Folio 1 Kyadondo Block 8 Plot 117, 1,118 and 1,119 at Kakeeka-Mengo.

August 20: The Government, through the Ministry of Investment and Industrialisation returned the Mbarara Industrial Park land title to the Uganda Gatsbay, a group of small-scale and medium enterprise owners and manufacturers in Mbarara, following President Yoweri Museveni’s directive.

September 28: Several acres of land at the centre of an ownership row belong to Kyambogo University, surveyors clarified. During joint investigations conducted by a team of surveyors from three different boards, it was established that the chunk of land was surveyed and titled in 1962.

September 28: Wakiso Resident District Commissioner (RDC) Justine Mbabazi intervened in a land wrangle where over 200 residents were being evicted by their landlord. Mbabazi ordered the residents of Nabukalu village, Wakiso sub-county, Wakiso district, who had already left to go back to their land, until court decides their fate. Edward Ssekabanjja says he owns 100 acres of land in the area. She said the president issued orders regarding evictions, which must be followed.

September 28: The Kapchorwa district vice chairperson was hospitalized after a fight with Khalifani Chemutai, who was accused of grabbing government land in the area.

September 30: Lands minister Judith Nabakooba re-assured bibanja holders that no one will unlawfully evict them from their pieces of land (bibanja). The minister told residents of Kyakarinda village, Kaliro subcounty in Lyantonde district, to have peace of mind and continue with their business as usual on their bibanja. This followed her visit to the area prompted by alleged eviction threats to more than 200 people in the area, after the administrators of the more than 60 hectares of land reportedly surveyed the land and opened boundaries.

September 30: State minister for lands Dr Sam Mayanja closed the Wakiso lands office over alleged fraud. Mayanja visited the Busiro lands offices for a public meeting (baraza) with the residents, to listen to their land-related matters. However, before the baraza, Mayanja engaged the staff and tasked the head of the ministerial lands office, Jude Charles Wasswa and senior registrar Martha Komugisha, with explaining the anomalies in the office at Wakiso after which he announced the closure of the office.

October 7: The Uganda Land Commission officials, who were arrested, had allegedly paid over sh26b to 100 ghost beneficiaries, according to preliminary Police investigations. The officials, who were arrested from their offices on Parliamentary Avenue, were also found with over 500 land titles whose owners are said to have been paid without verification. The Police is also investigating the authenticity of these titles.

October 08: Three people in Kalaki district offered 10 acres of land to the Government to construct a technical institute. The three families of Charles Egou Engwau, Robert Egweu and Peter Egou, who are residents of Eyenga ward in Kalaki town council, donated the land that was inspected and demarcated by district officials.

October 11: The state minister for lands, Dr Sam Mayanja, reopened the Wakiso district lands ministry zonal office with new directives.

October 15: Legislators on the parliamentary committee of physical infrastructure have halted dfcu Bank from auctioning government land in Tororo district. In 2010, a memorandum of understanding was signed between five stakeholders including Kasoli community in Tororo, the Government of Uganda, UN Habitat, dfcu Bank and Tororo municipal council to improve housing conditions of Ugandans in Tororo district by constructing cost-friendly houses for residents of Kasoli slum.

October 21: A special presidential assistant was charged with abuse of office before the Anti-Corruption Court in Kampala, over a piece of land in Wakiso district. Resty Nakayenga, 68, a special presidential assistant for underprivileged youth, is accused of influencing the transfer of a land title from Charles Kiku to James Batenda, her co-accused, in 2018.

October 21: The National Planning Authority (NPA) agreed with the alternative charter of fiscal responsibility, which proposes the need for government expenditure to be reduced as one of the remedies for containing the skyrocketing public debt. While appearing before the budget committee, the NPA executive director, Joseph Muvawala, said often times, there are many government expenditures which were not in the national development plans, which are partly responsible for the skyrocketing public debt.

October 21: The row between Mukono district local government and Buganda kingdom resulting from the 49 acres partly occupied by the district deepened. The district leadership said Buganda kingdom continued giving out part of this land to different people without their consent, given the fact that they still have running lease agreements for the said land.

October 22: Government surveyors opened the boundary on the disputed piece of land over Nabisunsa Girls’ School land. The land in question is comprised in Plots M562 and M727 at Kyambogo, Banda in Kampala and the part of it serves as a demonstration farm for the school.

November 1: The Prime Minister, Robinah Nabbanja, justified the proposed land law and dismissed reports that the Government intends to abolish the mailo land tenure system. Nabbanja said the proposed law will streamline land issues so that people who rightfully own land do not lose it. It also aims at ironing out the existing ambiguities between landowners and squatters. She said no one was planning to abolish or weaken the mailo land system. Ugandan has four land tenure systems — mailo, freehold, leasehold and customary.

November 24: The Attorney General (AG) ruled as illegal the decision by lands minister Judith Nabakooba to suspend the chairperson and commissioners at the Uganda Land Commission (ULC).