2,000 Luuka residents benefit from free land title initiative

_______________

The Government, through the Lands Ministry, has issued 2000 free land titles to Luuka district residents.

The customary land titles processed in partnership with the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) were issued to beneficiaries at Bukooma sub-county headquarters on March 3, 2026.

Ministry permanent secretary Dorcus Okalany, who was represented by the ministry spokesperson Denis Obbo, said that the initiative is part of the ruling National Resistance Movement party's manifesto to protect the rightful land owners and curb land disputes and evictions.

RDC Kiwbika giving a resident a land title as PRO Obbo, other leaders and LWF officials look on. (Credit: Ivan Wakibi)

Okalany said the programme started in September 2022 when President Yoweri Museveni handed over the titles in Northern Uganda and directed the ministry to continue helping the poor and vulnerable to map and register their land.

She revealed that they have currently helped residents in 35 districts across the country with the issuance of a total of 105,000 land titles to residents under the programme.

According to Okalany, the ministry is also implementing several land sector related interventions to assist landowners register, acquire and update on a regular basis their land documents and interest.

She hailed the development partner for the achievement and appealed to the beneficiaries and general public to stop dividing land as the average holding per family is less than two acres, which hinders development on land.

Luuka Resident District Commissioner Micheal Kibwiika emphasised the objective of the President protecting the vulnerable landowners from land grabbing.

He said his office has been receiving many land-related complaints, which he believes will be checked with the issuance of the land titles and adding value to the land.

Kibwiika, however, asked the beneficiaries to use the land for commercial purposes and food security rather than hiring it out, as is the norm in the district, where people hire land for about 10  years to sugarcane growers at shillings two million, leaving most families suffering from hunger and without productive ventures.

Land dispute threats

Foundation development manager Joseph Balikudembe said they partnered with the Government in land rights interventions after assessing that most families in the area were facing challenges with land disputes, which affects development at the family and community level.

Balikudembe said that there were a lot of family land inheritance conflicts, land grabbing, which was threatening food security in the district, which could be addressed through proper land documentation and formal certification of ownership.

He promised production of more than 500 land titles and asked the community to embrace their programme Luuka food security initiative, supported by Bread for the World, running till 2027.

Meanwhile, district vice-chairperson Shaban Batwala appealed to the beneficiaries and other residents to catch up with the season by planting crops for both domestic and commercial purposes to fight hunger and improve their livelihood.

The Bukooma sub-county chairperson, Benon Tibakula, who benefitted from the programme and other residents expressed happiness, citing numerous land conflicts they have been experiencing.

Tibakula said he has been receiving about 10 land conflict-related cases every month from different villages where some people have been murdered in the matter.

He noted that some of the cases were originating from changing land boundaries and cited examples of murder of Alex Mukasa at Busanda village and Yonah Kimera at Kirimwa village, among others.

 

Beneficiaries Edinansi Balinabyo, a widow from Bukoova village and Aziza Nambozo,70, from Naigobya village expressed hope that the titles could help them settle the endless conflicts with neighbors which have lasted for years.