Buganda stops districts from managing Kabaka’s land

Buganda Land Board legal manager Denis Buyaga . Photo by Stephen Otage

What you need to know:

The board became the new landlord in 2013.

Kampala. Buganda Land Board (BLB), the company taking care of all the Kabaka’s land in the kingdom, has warned occupants of Kabaka’s land against doing any land transactions with district land boards before consulting them.

Speaking in an interview in Kampala last week, Mr Denis Buyaga, the legal manager Buganda Land Board, said all land transactions pertaining to Kabaka’s land which was formerly vested in the district land boards, should be chanelled through the BLB because it is the new landlord since the return of properties belonging to the kingdom in 2013. “All the new land titles and land leases that were issued by districts which used to administer Kabaka’s land before it was returned to the kingdom in 2013 are null and void because ownership has changed,” he said.
He said the properties in question include all those which belonged to Buganda before former president Milton Obote abolished kingdoms in 1966 and were put under government custody but were returned to the kingdom in 2013.

Mr Baguma Isoke the chairman Uganda Land Commission, said the 1995 Constitution vests ownership of land to individuals after acquiring vesting instruments such as leasehold, customary or freehold tenure.
“The land of Uganda does not belong to the state, but Buganda Kingdom referred to as a cultural institution headed by the Kabaka, owns land which is administered by the Buganda Land Board which has the land titles,” he said, adding that: “district land boards and the Uganda Land Commission are just controlling authorities of government and public land.”