GOVERNMENT | BUTALEJA | LAND TITLES 

Lands Minister Judith Nabakooba has handed over 1,624 free customary land titles to the residents of the Butaleja district.

The government's program of registering customary land is aimed at helping its users stop the land conflicts caused by boundary disputes and concentrate on producing food for the nation and exporting.

Nabakooba re-echoed President Yoweri Museveni’s advice on land fragmentation yesterday, saying subdividing the pieces of land would not make economic sense to the land owner.

Butaleja residents displaying land titles

She urged the beneficiaries in Butaleja to make good use of the land now that they have land titles.

"While here in 2019, the President advised the families against subdividing their land, noting that the act would result in small-sized land holdings that would be difficult to economically make sense to the land owners because the land would be too small," she said, adding that the President also advised landowners in the district to keep the land together as a family in order to grow economically.

Nabakooba also stressed the need to conserve wetlands in Butaleja and Busoga regions.

“We need to protect the environment because it plays a huge role in making our lives complete." "The Uganda Community-Based Association for Women and Children’s Welfare (UCOBAC) and our partners have tried to sensitize the people on how to protect the sensitive ecosystem and environment. 40% of Butalejja is a wetland. "The government is also aware that parts of Busoga are wetlands,” she said.

UCOBAC board chairperson Grace Angeline Chelimo said the organization, in partnership with the government and other players, has been involved in a project to help residents in the district register their customary land and receive land titles.

UCOBAC partnered with the Government to implement the project targeting to register 275,000 vulnerable families across the country in the next three years.

Nabakooba Hands Over Land Titles To Butaleja Residents

Chelimo said the project is aimed at improving the land tenure system to benefit women, children, and the youth.

She added that the organization has focused on three sub-counties: Mazimasa, Kachola, and Naweyo.

UCOBAC has been involved in land title registration exercises in Butaleja and other places, such as the Pader district, where 450 land titles were given to residents.

Butaleja chief administrative officer Lawrence Ben Marley said land disputes are the most reported cases in the district.

Marley said some of the causes of land disputes in the district include polygamy, which leads to fights over the property in case the sole breadwinner dies; absentee landlords whose caretakers end up selling off their land; and the huge space taken up by the wetlands, leaving a small area for people to fight for.

Butalejja Woman MP Florence Nebanda encouraged the residents to secure their land rights by ensuring that they get and keep their land titles safely.