Govt tightens rules for land registration

The government has issued new guidelines for acquisition of special certificates of title, which officials said tighten land ownership verification to stem widespread fraudulent transactions.

Lands minister, Ms Judith Nabakooba, on November 28 directed the commissioners for land registration, and survey and mapping and all registrars, to conduct physical diligence through on-the-site visits before issuing special titles.

Issuance of special titles, she noted, is increasingly contentious due to rival land ownership claims.

Unveiling of the guidelines follow the ministry’s advertisement on social media to notify Ugandans in the Diaspora of hundreds of applications lodged with it by applicants from mainly Wakiso and Mukono districts for issuance of special titles.

Under the new rules, land registrars must carry out due diligence by liaising with all leaders from village to district level, under the supervision of the resident district commissioners (RDCs), who chair district security committees and the chief administrative officers (CAOs), the top technocrats in a district.

The purpose of such consultations, according to the blueprint, is to ascertain true ownership and establish whether or not there is duplication, before issuing special titles.

The commissioner land registration will also provide the process of certifying documents by the duty bearers and all leaders.

Ms Nabakooba said the guidelines she issued with consent of the Attorney General Kiryowa Kiwanuka, the government’s principal legal advisor, are to stem forgery of titles and fraudulent land acquisition/registration.

Framers expect it to curb creation of Mailo titles on Freehold land or issuance of titles on disputed land or multiple titles on the same land, vices blamed on bureaucrats’ failure to conduct site visits to ascertain facts on the ground. 

“For land applied for, where the acreage is quite big, again further due diligence must be exercised by consulting all stakeholders to satisfy that it is free from encumbrance,” minister Nabakooba’s letter reads in part.

It adds: “These [guidelines are] intended to create more safeguards and alertness among all duty bearers.”

Official records show higher land disputes in the central region where Mailo system is dominant and where the country’s wealthy are most concentrated as well as in northern Uganda where Balaalo influx has caused jitters.

Owners accuse bureaucrats of conniving with brokers and unscrupulous individuals, and in some conflicting family members, to irregularly hand special titles out on disputed lands.

Wakiso and Mukono, which combined with the capital comprise Metropolitan Kampala, and the Mityana district, are leading choices for land grab and title forgery, according to government sources.

For example, in Wakiso District’s Namayumba Sub-county, 5,000-plus bona-fide occupants are caught in feuding between late Gabudyeri Lubajja’s grandchildren who are split into two camp, each laying rival claim to land the family patriarch bequeathed. 

The mother title shows the land was originally on August 29, 1988 in the names of Edward Kinagomba Ssentamu Majwega upon whose demise the grandchildren obtained letters of administration in 2013, sparking the subsisting conflict. 

This unresolved land ownership is one of thousands of cases in a continuing pattern, with 2020/21 Justice, Law and Order Sector (JLOS) Annual report highlighting 31,641 pending land cases countrywide.

Courts adjudicated only 23 percent of the 40,944 land cases before them, according to the report, holding up life-time asset acquisition and related investments decisions.

The guidelines that minister Nabakooba issued on November 28 followed a legal opinion by Attorney General Kiryowa Kiwanuka in the same month in which he communicated that bureaucrats found culpable in formalising fraudulent land transactions would be held personally liable, and not the government as has been the practice.

To eliminate teething problems dogging her sector, Ms Nabakooba in the new rules tasks land registrars to exercise higher diligence by involving all stakeholders related to a land or dispute. 

She argued that the current title replacement process of anyone lodging a complaint to police, presenting the supporting documents, publishing in the official gazette and filing records at Lands offices is inadequate to catch mischief, especially where family members falsely declare an original titles lost to get special ones.

“… issuance of special certificates of titles should be controlled at the centre where further due diligence must be exercised by liaising with all leaders from Local Council One to Five under supervision of CAOs and RDCs to confirm that land where aspects of title is going to be made is free of any dispute and no duplicate/owner’s copy is truly not in existence,” the minister wrote.

She warned that non-compliance with new rules will result in prosecution of officials who make a mistake. 

Push back

The minister’s directive immediately drew mixed reactions.

Mr Baker Mugaino, the commissioner Land Registration, said if implemented the directives will slow and frustrate land transactions due to prolonged titling process.

“Why would a duly registered land owner require us to hold a meeting before giving them their title which is lost? Application for special title is legalised by law and the process of application is clear,” he said, adding, “In fact, the applicant appears to the ministry and we verify his or her identity and ensure that the information we have in our system corresponds with what we have before issuing the special title to them.”

Whereas the ministry has doubled down efforts to stem fraud in land transactions, Ms Nabakooba’s latest guidance, according to Mugaino, is not proper since it will cripple land transactions.

“For the last two years we have strengthened the process to an extent of requiring the registered proprietor to appear before us. There are exceptional cases of fraud, where we hold meetings on disputed land before issuing documents, but when someone’s land is theirs and they are proved, I don’t see a reason why we should hold meetings in villages to verify them,” he added.

Agreeing with Mr Mugaino, lawyer Elias Nalukoola of Nalukoola & Co. Advocates who has handled several land cases, said the minister is not being realistic.

“Issuing a replacement certificate of title should be done in respect to the legal interest, not equitable interest, as the minister wants. There are well laid procedures on how the title must be issued under the law,” he opined.

He added: “Why would I have to call meetings and inform the villages to prove that my land belongs to me? This is unrealistic. What I know is that when I lose my title, I should apply and get it easily as long as I follow the procedure.”

Mr Nalukoola argued that involving multiple stakeholder could lead to landlords being witch-hunted on flimsy grounds.

“For example, when there is a Kibanja holder (squatter) who has a grudge [with you, they will lodge a complaint and you are denied your title. The challenge we have is that politicians deal with minor issues and want to generalize them to the entire country,” he said.

Mr Richard Muganzi, the executive director of Landcode Initiative, a non-governmental organisation that fights for land rights for the less privileged, however, welcomed new guidelines that the minister issued.

“This will curb the fraud that has been happening between some groups of individuals. It may be family members who connive with the land ministry officials and issue such titles to give them access to sell the land, hence leading to conflicts,” he said.

Six steps to replace lost title

In Uganda’s land administration, a certificate of title (land title) is a document issued by the government as proof of land ownership. 

According to the Justice Centres Uganda (JCU), “a genuine land title” is issued by the office of titles in Lands ministry. 

A registered owner is issued the original title while the Registry retains a similar version called the White Copy.

In the event an owner loses/misplaces their copy, or dies, the Lands ministry upon application by the land owner, successor or agent issues a replacement title called a special title/Substitute Certificate of Title.

The process of applying for a special title is outlined in Transactions Procedures Series 17:

1. Notify police

Upon loss or misplacement of a title, a land owner must notify police and obtain a case reference number.

2. Gather supporting documents

These include duplicate certificate of title, a request letter for a substitute title, passport photographs and photocopy of all required documents.

3. Petition Land ministry

A land owner submits documentation to the Commissioner Land Registration for processing of the substitute certificate of title.

4. Advertisement

Applicant advertises application for special title in the Gazette and newspapers with national circulation.

5. Follow-up/verification

Land Registry expected to issue special title within 10 working days, in not contention.

6. Issuance of new title

Land Registry Office issues successful applicant new land title deed.

Sources: Justice Centres Uganda, Lands ministry and Real Estate Database (RED).

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