How CA delegates tackled land question

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The land question in Uganda emerged when the colonialists took land away from communities and donated it to a few individuals.

So, when Constituent Assembly (CA) delegates convened from 1993-1995 to draft the Constitution, they had to balance debates on four issues — land ownership by citizens, compulsory acquisition of land by the Government, balancing rights of landlords and tenants and the need to cure colonial land injustice.

“The provisions of the Constitution were by and large based on the wishes of the people as expressed in their views to the constitutional commission. In the CA, most of the provisions in the Constitution were adopted by the delegates through consensus. However, a few controversial provisions were resolved through a majority vote and some of these continue to attract controversy, debate and challenges in courts of law. The controversial provisions mainly related to the political system, especially the issue of the suspension of political party activities, the referendum on political systems, the entrenchment of the movement system in the constitution, federalism and the issue of land,” former chief justice Benjamin Odoki said in his essay: The challenges of constitution making in Uganda.

For many CA delegates, a true turning point came with the 1995 Constitution, which restored ownership of land to the people of Uganda. Article 237(1) vested land in the citizens, while Article 26(2) guaranteed protection from arbitrary deprivation of property without fair and prompt compensation.

This marked a decisive shift away from state ownership to citizen empowerment. On the need to entrench land tenures in the Constitution, Butebo County delegate James Okanya said: “Land belongs to the people and being a factor of production, people should be enabled to easily acquire titles to land. A freehold system of land tenure should be enshrined in the Constitution itself and not left to Parliament to decide and make laws suitable.”

Aston P. Kajara, the delegate for Mwenge County South, reinforced this position in his submission, adding that: “We would like to see the customary land tenure system of bibanja holdings recognised and legalised, for which they should be enabled to acquire titles at affordable rates. Tenants squatting on mailo land would like to acquire freehold titles to the land they occupy, while the current owners thereof should negotiate with government for compensation.”

To operationalise these principles, the 1998 Land Act was enacted. It recognised the four tenure systems — customary, mailo, freehold and leasehold — and required registration of customary land to avoid disputes.

It also clarified that the Government could only acquire land for public purposes after fair compensation.

Constituent Assembly delegates argued that the Constitution’s principle that land belongs to the people had to be entrenched and remains a cornerstone of Uganda’s democracy. Yet challenges of disputes, compensation, gender inequality and balancing communal traditions with private rights persist.

As Uganda celebrates 30 years of the 1995 Constitution, the land question continues to be both a foundation of identity and a driver of future transformation.

START OF CONSTITUTIONAL RULE

When the National Resistance Army (NRA) overran Kampala under the leadership of President Yoweri Museveni, the journey of transition to constitutional rule started almost immediately with the issuance of Legal Notice No. 1 of 1986.

The legal notice that repealed the 1967 Constitution effectively established the legal framework for the NRM Government, vesting legislative powers in the National Resistance Council (NRC) and outlining the code of conduct for the NRA.

The CA, which comprised representatives elected by the people under the chairmanship of James Wapakhabulo on September 22, 1995, promulgated the Constitution, effectively replacing that of 1967.

In the run-up to October 7, New Vision will be publishing stories that showcase the progress that the country has made under the 1995 Constitution.

VISION GROUP MAGAZINE

To commemorate the 30th anniversary of Uganda’s Constitution promulgation, Vision Group will on October 7 publish a comprehensive magazine that highlights the milestones covered under the Constitution.