Widows left homeless as land grabbers take her land in Tororo, Butaleja

This has not spared widows in Tororo and Butaleja districts, where the surge of cases involving widows losing their land to land grabbers, in some cases aided by area land committees, is becoming rampant. This has left many widowed families homeless.

90-year-old, Ms Aidah Aboth, a resident of Ngeta "B" cell, Nambogo ward, Iyolwa town council in Tororo, is among hundreds of widows in the district who have been forced out of their matrimonial home after the death of her husband.

She fled her home to live with her other relatives after being harassed and threatened by her in-laws, who connived with members of the Area Land Committee to illegally transfer land ownership.

"I was humiliated, physically intimidated, and insulted by my in-laws, and I could not contain it apart from fleeing for refuge at my daughter’s home from my 12 acres of land, which I had been cultivating for decades after the death of my husband Yakobo Okoth in 1974," Ms. Aboth says, as tears roll.

She now appeals to the president to intervene in her case to enable her to resettle back to her home so that she can take care of her husband's grave and her children.

She says at her age, she is worried and does not want to put a burden on her daughter in case death occurs because tradition doesn't permit a mother to be buried at the home of her daughter.

"I appeal to the office of the president and other relevant offices to help me reclaim my land because now, at my age, I cannot continue staying with my son-in-law. It's against our tradition that I subscribe to. If I die, they will not accept my body to be buried at my son-in-law's," she says.

Mr John Ochieng, the village LC1 chairperson, says his council handled the dispute with guidance from Justice Centres Uganda Tororo and found out that there was no reason why Aboth (widow) should be denied control and ownership of her 12-acre land.

"For sure, I don't know the circumstances under which the land rights ownership was transferred to someone else. What I recall is that at one time, I was called to sign, but I refused," he said.

In most parts of the districts, women may have rights to use land, but these rights hinge on their relationship to men, and if that man dies, women are forced off their land or out of their homes.

Ms. Joyce Adengero, 81, a resident of Abwanget cell in Osukuru town council, is another widow whose life is threatened after relatives descended to grab her land after the death of her husband.

She says after the death of her husband 10 years ago, her in-laws started convening meetings claiming that her husband, being the family heir, died before subdividing the ancestral land, and it’s the right time that the family had to subdivide the land.

In one of the meetings, Ms Adengero said she was surprised to hear that the land that belonged to her late husband needed to be subdivided, yet while he was alive, there were boundaries.

"I told them that this is nonsense because when their brother was still alive, none of them could come and ask to subdivide the land. I wondered why it was happening after his death," she said.

Mrs Basereda Achom, 75, from Kataboi Cell in Akolodongo ward, Malaba town council, another widow who had lost her land, is now a happy woman after Chief Magistrates Court in Tororo ruled in her favor.

Mr John Okello, the chairperson of the Area Land Committee, Malaba town council, had filed a case against Ms. Achom, claiming the four acres of land that she inherited from her late husband.

"Today I am the happiest person after being availed justice. It has not been an easy task. The forceful entry into my four acres of land by the defendant caused me trauma, inconvenience, and psychological torture, but now I am relieved," Ms. Basereda said.

Ms Enfulansi Kafuko, 73, a sub-county councilor representing the elderly at Maizimasa in Butaleja district, says most women are unable to assert equal land and property rights despite legal protections.

"They have that belief that women have no moral authority over land. This stands to be a serious concern within communities," Ms. Kafuko says.

She added, "Men think that being the head of the family has outright authority over everything as husbands, without involvement of women, especially in land matters."

She made these remarks over the weekend during the community public dialogue commonly known as Baraza, under the theme, "Enhancing awareness, engagement, and accountability on land governance for sustainable development amongst land owners in Butaleja district."

The public dialogues, organized by The Uganda Community-Based Association for Women and Children Welfare (UCOBAC), were conducted in the four sub-counties of Kachonga, Nabweyo, Maizimasa, and Busabi in Butaleja district, under the Global campaign, "Stand for Her Land."

Ms Lukiya Buya, another woman, says securing land rights is essential for women's economic empowerment and also creates incentives for investment.

"Land is the foundation for security, shelter, and livelihoods, supports women’s dignity, and creates pathways to empowerment and economic opportunity, something which women are still being denied to own," she says.