Land: New Police unit to handle disputes

KAMPALA - In a sweeping set of new reforms, the Police chief, Abas Byakagaba, has announced a raft of operational reviews and new measures, including the restructuring of the Land Police Protection Unit (LPPU). 

The new measures are aimed at bolstering law enforcement efficiency and combating growing criminal threats. Speaking to journalists during the weekly press briefing at the Police headquarters in Naguru, Kampala. 

Police spokesperson Rusoke Kituuma revealed that the LPPU has been shifted from the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) to the Directorate of Human Rights and Legal Services, headed by Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIGP) Charles Kataratambi. 

Byakagaba said this was done to streamline the handling of land disputes, which often involve a combination of civil and criminal elements. 

Commissioner of Police James Kusemererwa has been appointed as the commandant of the newly restructured unit, deputised by Assistant Commissioner of Police Musani Sabila, formerly the regional Police commander of Kampala Metropolitan East (stretching from Nakawa to Kira division and Mukono district). 

With this new development, the CID will focus on high-profile cases, unlike previously, when every case, including land conflicts, was referred to CID headquarters in Kibuli. 

CID will now only take up referral cases which cannot be handled elsewhere. This will expedite the process of resolving the rampant land-related conflicts around the country. 


“Land matters are the busiest and most sensitive cases we receive at Police stations. They often involve domestic violence, fraud and physical confrontations,” Kituuma said. 

He explained that previously, while CID handled criminal aspects, operational directives came from the directorate of operations, now headed by AIGP Frank Mwesigwa, causing bureaucratic hurdles. 

IGP Abas Byakagaba

Under the new arrangement, the LPPU will have full operational and investigative control, allowing for quicker and more effective responses to land-related conflicts. 

“We believe this streamlining will ensure better co-ordination, faster response and more effective investigations into land-related conflicts,” Kituuma emphasised. 

In line with strengthening legal capacity across the Police, Kituuma clarified that every policing region now has an attached lawyer to guide on operational and administrative legal matters, including land. 

Although not every station has a resident legal officer, he stressed that the regional coverage was sufficient.

Not the first time 

In 2018, former Inspector General of Police Gen. Kale Kayihura suspended the Police’s LPPU in a move aimed at ridding it of officers who allegedly perpetrated land grabbing. 

This was after disturbing details emerged implicating detectives attached to the unit, linking them to land grabbers countrywide. 

The detectives were also accused of sabotaging cases at early stages and allegedly sharing some of the grabbed pieces of land with the suspected top land grabbers. 

Kayihura’s successor, Okoth Ochola, who has since retired from the force, was then asked to oversee the overhaul (vetting and deployment) of the LPPU. 

The issues that the vetting team looked at included the period each officer had spent in LPPU, cases reported, investigated and how many were concluded. 

Later, President Yoweri Museveni appointed a commission of inquiry headed by Justice Catherine Bamugemereire in 2017 to probe an array of issues pertaining to the land sector in Uganda. 

Police Spokesperson Rusoke Kituuma

The commission did its work between 2017 and 2019. It later handed over its report, which among others recommended the establishment of a land and wetland court and a land ombudsman to handle land-related matters. However, most of the recommendations have not been implemented. 

To stop evictions, President Museveni directed that no eviction should be carried out without the clearance of district security committees that are led by resident district commissioners (RDCs). 

He also cautioned RDCs against sanctioning evictions. Uganda recorded a staggering loss of sh474.6b to fraudsters last year, with victims falling prey to fraudulent schemes in land transactions, according to deputy criminal investigations director, Beata Chelimo. 

Of these, 6,067 case files have been submitted to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for legal advice, with 918 cases leading to convictions. 

However, 52 cases have been acquitted, and 369 dismissed due to insufficient evidence. 
Chelimo said the stolen amount, sh474.6b, was obtained by fraudsters using various deceptive tactics, including offering fake land titles and selling non-existent land.

Police constables

Deployment of SPCs 

Meanwhile, the Police are conducting a comprehensive review of the deployment of Special Police Constables (SPCs) across the country. 

Kituuma said SPCs, typically employed on one or two-year contracts, are vital in supplementing regular Police operations, especially general elections. 

“This time around, we are going to engage those whose services we still need and disengage those we no longer require,” Kituuma said. The decision to renew or terminate contracts will be based on operational needs, age, academic qualifications, and performance. 

“For instance, if an SPC has clocked an age where he can no longer serve efficiently, we may disengage him,” Kituuma said, adding that contract reviews are a routine aspect of force management. He did not disclose the exact number of SPCs likely to be disengaged.

Students on holiday at risk 

Speaking during the same press briefing yesterday, Derrick Basalirwa, the deputy national co-ordinator for the National Office for Counter-Targeted Criminal Justice and the Office of Internal Affairs, issued a holiday caution to parents and guardians, warning that students in holidays are highly vulnerable to traffickers. 

“Parents often go for work, leaving children at home alone. Traffickers exploit different platforms to lure them,” he said. 

Basalirwa called for heightened community vigilance to protect children from exploitation during the holidays. 

According to updates from the Directorate of Public Prosecutions’ Trafficking in Persons mobile application, over 3,777 trafficking cases have been recorded since 2023, with 80% of the victims being children. 

Basalirwa described the numbers as a “call to action,” noting that most suspects are young men between the ages of 18 and 29. Sex trafficking, especially involving young girls and women, remains the dominant form of exploitation, followed by labour trafficking.