Katakwi, Amuru top land disputes

Launch. Left to right (front row): Ms Jovah Kamateeka, the chairperson of Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights, Mr Meddie Kaggwa, the chairperson of Uganda Human Rights Commission, Kilak South constituency MP Mr Gilbert Oulanya and Ms Zahara Nampewo from School of Law at Makerere University during the launch of the Land Disputes and Human Rights Report 2017 at Golf Course Hotel in Kampala yesterday. PHOTO BY MICHAEL KAKUMIRIZI

What you need to know:

  • Cause. The disputes have been blamed on, among other factors, speculative investors who grab land and growing population that has exerted pressure on land.

Kampala.

Katakwi, Amuru, and Mubende top the country’s districts with the largest number of land disputes, a new report by Uganda Human Rights Commission on land disputes has revealed.
The 2017 report titled: ‘Land Disputes and Human Rights in Selected Regions of Uganda: Tracing the Nexus,’ documents a number of land cases in 12 districts across the country.
It also cites mineral rush in Bunyoro, Acholi and Karamoja sub-regions and Mubende District as the biggest factors leading to land grabbing.
In Masindi and Bulisa districts, discovery of oil and the resultant speculation of investors regarding business opportunities are said to be some of the factors driving disputes. Unclear district boundaries, negative cultural practices, government policy of gazetting conservation areas, political interference and changing land use patterns also feature prominently among causes of land disputes.
The report also highlights private individuals, communities, state agencies such as the National Forest Authority, Uganda Wildlife Authority, and Uganda Prisons Service as some of the parties to the land disputes across the country.
Mr Meddie Kaggwa, the chairperson of Uganda Human Rights Commission, who also launched the report said land conflicts are the biggest sources of violations and abuse of rights of the people across the country. He said the trends are worrying and needed to be checked.
Mr Kaggwa said 479 cases were reported in 2014, another 508 in 2015, with the number dropping to 393 cases in 2016 and again shooting up to 510 in 2017.
The report says the land disputes come in the form of land grabbing, border disputes, encroachment on protected areas, disputes relating to compensation and family-related disputes.
“We want the government to use human rights-based approach to holistically address the issues of land, confront the current escalation and take appropriate measures to address it,” Mr Kaggwa said.
Dr Zahara Nampewo, the Director of Human Rights and Peace Centre, Makerere University Law School, said government agencies should predict the trends in population and plan ahead on land use. She said this will address problems of population explosion.
The research shows that, a total of 125 parish, 40 sub-counties in 12 districts are affected by land disputes, with central region experiencing huge influx of immigrants and settlers illegally occupying large chunks of land leading to scarcity.
Among the forms of disputes, family disputes took the biggest share with 79 cases, closely followed by land grabbers accounting for 75 cases.
Encroachment, border disputes, forced evictions and compensations follow in that order.
The report also cites citizens’ lack of faith in the judicial system because of the slow and long process it takes to get justice.
It also says in many cases people have died, food destroyed leading to hunger and famine, among other problems. The report says children have dropped out of school, because they, like any other people, are also attacked during land conflicts.