Govt seeks to empower ethnic minorities on land rights

A Bill meant to protect the rights of women and minority groups on land acquisition is in the offing.

This was revealed by the commissioner equity and rights, ministry of gender labour and social development, Bernard Mujuni.

"This law is meant to protect the social impact on indigenous women and minorities. We want to make sure they benefit from the gains of their ancestral lands, acquire land rights on resettled areas too. It is already in progress and has reached the consultation level; once it is ready we shall forward it to Parliament for enactment," Mujuni said.

Speaking at a regional minority and indigenous people's network meeting at In Kampala, Mujuni told the participants that the ministry is concerned about the wellbeing of ethnic minority groups especially the land rights of indigenous women.

Currently, the Constitution, the Equal Opportunities Act and the Traditional and Cultural Leaders Act are some of the instruments that enshrine the rights of the indigenous communities.

According to the lands ministry, only 6% of registered and titled land belongs to women but through the statistics it is not clear about the number of indigenous women who own land.

In Uganda, access to land as a source of cultural identity is a critical issue but traditionally only men are permitted to own land whereas women who spend most of their time tilling the land can only own it through their husbands or sons.

However, the indigenous women suffer double discrimination in land acquisition.

"It is imperative that all people have equal rights as clearly stated in the Constitution and it is against the law for dominant tribes that consider the minority inferior," Mujuni noted.

The Uganda 2002 census lists 19 ethnic groups in Uganda with less than

25,000 people including; Batwa, Banyara, Tepeth, Batuku, Paluo, Babukusu, Banyabindi, Lendu, Basongora, Ik, Bahehe, Dodoth, Ethur, Mening, Jie, Mvuba, Nyangia, Napore, Vanoma; these are only some of the few.