How and why govt is intensifying registration of communal lands

__________________

OPINION

By Dorcas Okalany

Uganda’s Constitution under Article 237(1) and (3) declares that land in Uganda belongs to the citizens of Uganda and is held under four legally recognised tenure systems: Customary, Freehold, Mailo, and Leasehold. Article 237(4)(a) empowers citizens who own land under the customary system to acquire Certificates of Ownership in a manner prescribed by the Land Act and land regulations.

Customary tenure is a system of landholding regulated by traditional rules that apply to a specific community or group of people. These rules, which are recognised under the law, are accepted as binding and authoritative by those to whom they apply. Customary tenure typically involves communal ownership and use of land, passed down in perpetuity. It is governed by traditional norms regarding access, management, and dispute resolution.

The law stipulates that this tenure system is applicable only to particular areas and classes of persons and provides a framework for land to be owned by individuals, families, communities, clans, or sub-clans under customary arrangements.

To formalise their land rights, a group such as a community or clan must first incorporate as a Communal Land Association (CLA) under the Land Act. Once incorporated, the CLA registers its communal land and obtains a Certificate of Customary Ownership.

This certificate serves as conclusive evidence of the rights and interests described therein. CCOs are now widely accepted by financial institutions, public authorities, and legal entities as valid proof of ownership.

The Land Act also requires that any subsequent transactions on registered customary land must be recorded by an appointed Recorder, typically the Sub-county Chief in rural areas, the Town Clerk in municipalities, or Assistant Town Clerks in city divisions, before they are legally effective. This ensures integrity and traceability in land dealings on registered customary land.

The Lands Ministry has responded to a growing national demand to secure communal lands through formal registration processes. This demand has been driven by: concerns over issuance of freeholds and leases to individuals who are not customary owners; the loss of customary land rights due to large-scale land acquisition for investment; the escalating unresolved boundary disputes on unregistered land; the need for legal proof of ownership to safeguard against encroachment; marginalization and dispossession of women, children, persons with disabilities, and other vulnerable groups; and the passing away of traditional leaders who are custodians of customary knowledge on land, boundaries, and dispute resolution.

To date, over 900 Communal Land Associations have been incorporated by the Lands Ministry, which has also surveyed and registered communal lands for clans, particularly in the Northern and West Nile sub-regions.

The Lands Ministry has also developed Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for registration of communal land, issued survey guidelines to ensure that surveying of lands is conducted with precision using scientific methods, as is done under freeholds, mailo and leaseholds. The standards minimise disputes related to vague or overlapping general boundaries and allow for seamless integration of communal land data into the Land Information System (LIS) alongside Freehold, Mailo, and Leasehold land titles.

The use of accurate survey tools and methodologies has enabled smooth land tenure conversions, with no need to resurvey while aligning customary land administration to national land governance frameworks.

Awareness creation has been central to the Ministry’s achievements in documenting customary land. Public education campaigns have helped communities, especially those forming CLAs, understand their rights, obligations and responsibilities in how to engage transparently with prospective investors.

An example is the Ministry’s recent support to the Naita-a-Tepeth Communal Land Association in Moroto District to lease 10,000 acres of communal land for a clinker factory. The process was participatory and free of coercion, with no reported incidents of forced eviction.

Another success is in Agago District, where communal land has been registered by Acholi clans to facilitate leasing for the Parish to Market (P2M) Initiative launched by H.E. the President in 2023. This success was achieved through inclusive dialogue and implementation of a six-step model - two steps for CLA formation and four steps for CCO registration—adapted from Georgia’s internationally recognised land registration model.

Following this, the Minister responsible for lands has informed the Presidency that 32 Omiya Pacwa clans have registered over 15,000 acres of their communal land and are planning to lease it for investment purposes since most of it is underutilised.

In Kaabong District, the Ministry has facilitated the incorporation of clans and sub-clans into CLAs and supported the issuance of their Certificates of Customary Ownership.

Again, the Presidency has been informed and a request to hand over the customary titles to the clans for purposes of visibility aimed at advancing the economic benefits of keeping communal lands consolidated, productive and optimally used.

Plans are underway to expand the mobilisation, sensitisation, registration and titling of communal lands across northern, eastern, West Nile and Karamoja sub-regions, including building the capacity of clans and traditional institutions to document their customary norms, practices and values regarding land administration and management. There shall also be a deepening of community awareness on the importance of using alternative dispute resolution mechanisms to resolve and keep the communal lands free of disputes.

These Government efforts are crucial to empowering communal landowners to confidently interface with investors, attract development, and protect the customary land from losing its customary values and social structures that underpin it.

The writer is the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development