Land wrangles account for 80% of cases in Northern Uganda

By Jeff Andrew Lule          

After 20 years of insurgency by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels in Northern Uganda, many would assume peace returned in the area, but land wrangles have emerged as another cause of insecurity in the region.

This has led to sluggish development, abject poverty and divisions among communities.

The  problem has mainly affected widows, orphans and the elderly.

This was revealed during a legal aid service week organized in Amuru and Pader districts last week, led by lawyers from Legal Aid Service Providers Network (LAPSNet), aimed at providing a community based centralized platform for accessing justice for victims of land grabbing, and providing quick remedial actions to the disputes.

The team conducted legal aid clinics and symposiums with the cultural leaders, women, youth and area leadership.

Several leaders and victims attributed the problem to the poor land tenure system, unclear boundary, and illegal settlers.

During the insurgency, all people were forced into the IDP camps, but were surprised to find encroachers on their land on return.

The Pader district police community liaison officer, Francis Oyet said many people have resolved to violent means to reclaim their land which at times leads to bloodshed.

“We get many cases of land conflicts on a daily basis. Other cases are before courts of law, while others are before the clan leaders and local council courts for reconciliation among the aggrieved parties,” he noted.

On average more than five cases of land conflict are reported to Police in a week.

He says land issues have created divisions among clans, families and communities in the entire northern Uganda region.

The clan leader of Lukeer clan, James Amone 58, says most homes have been affected.

 “Majority of the families and clans are facing this problem in the entire Acholi region. We are trying to mediate aggrieved parties and if involves serious violence we push the case to police.  We believe mediation is a better method to solve the worrying parties than resorting to violence,” he adds.

Amone said land in Acholi is under the customary land tenure system owned by different clans but the biggest problems are the landless people who settled on it while people were in camps.

“When we returned from camps, we found squatters on our land. It became difficult for us as clan leaders to send away these people because they were homeless too. We only encourage rightful owners and encroachers to share the land with these encroachers and live in harmony,” he said.

Pader district land board chairman, Otto Orumari 65, says most cases of land grabbing and trespass are handled by cultural/clan leaders.

“Land here is owned by the community and clans. Any dispute is first taken to clan leaders for consultations and mediation, and we are trying to settle these problems,” he noted.

Orumari also secretary to the Rwot (chief) of Pader, says conflicts are also settled by religious leaders and the elderly before taking the case to the mainstream court.

He adds that LC courts were charging people when the mediation is supposed to be free.

He said they have started sensitizing people about the land tenure system and national laws for people to know their rights.

Adoch Sandra , district councilor for Awere Sub County, said there is need to revamp the cultural system to promote gender equality and representation of more women on the clan leader’s council.

Tomsom Epia, Pader district Attorney said the district has only a grade one magistrate thus delaying the cases.

“That is what makes our cases delay. We have written to the Judicial Service Commissions about the matter,” he added.

Pader, district chairman, Alfred Akena accused the clan leaders and LCs for fueling the conflicts for their selfish motives.

“Some of these people connive with tycoons to take people’s land. There is also conflict of interest by some members of the mediation team and it is one reason why even small cases fail to be solved,” he added.

Akena also highlighted other cases like defilement which are rampant in the area, saying that some LCs even turn into guests of honor at marrying off young girls.

“This is unacceptable and those found presiding over such function will be arrested,” he added.

LASPNet representative, Lydia Namuli Lubega said they might not address all challenges but their teams will remain on ground to follow up the unresolved cases. She attributed the problem to lack of documentation of land transactions, unclear demarcations of land boundaries and corruption among others.

ActionAid coordinator in the area, Moses Onen stressed that the issue of land conflict cuts across the entire region.

“You find families fighting widows while powerful people in families try to grab other people’s land especially for children and widows,” he added.

Onen said this has been compounded by the cultural beliefs that women are not supposed to own land which has greatly led to increasing poverty.

“Land conflicts have only led to poverty and under development of the area,” he added.

Amuru district chairperson, Anthony Atubo, said unscrupulous developers were forcefully grabbing people’s land using their powerful positions.

Atubo said he was ready to fight for the rights of the poor and warned locals against use of violence while fighting for their land.

LAPSNet findings indicate that land grabs account for 80% of the cases, followed by trespass, affecting mainly women, widows, children, and the elderly.

Cecilia Adong, 30, a widow and mother of four, claims her land and other property were forcefully seized by her in-laws following her husband’s death.