The government, through the Ministry of Lands, Housing, and Urban Development (MLHUD), has placed a caveat on disputed land in five villages of Mpigi District to halt illegal activities and investigate ownership claims. The affected villages are Nundu, Kalagala, Nakibanga A, B, and D, all within Kayabwe Town Council.
According to Lands Minister Judith Nabakooba, the caveat is necessary to allow the ministry’s technical team to open boundaries and verify the size and type of land tenure. “We don’t know whether it’s Kabaka land (Mailo) or public land. People have been paying nominal ground rent (Busuulu) to the Buganda Land Board all this time, yet someone else claims a freehold title on the same land,” she said during a meeting at Nakibanga UMEA Primary School over the weekend.
Local residents claim they have lived on the land for generations. Nakibanga village chairperson, Joseph Kakande, explained that in July 2014, a man named Gonzaga Lukyamuzi appeared, claiming ownership of parts of the land under different titles, including Christine Namata Block 253 Plot 57, Gonzaga Lukyamuzi Block 253 Plot 58, and Katonga Combined Holdings Uganda Limited on Plot 59. Residents insist they have no connection with Lukyamuzi and that their ancestors have lived on the land for over 80 years.
Mr. Kakande added that the alleged land grabbers had begun partitioning the land without the villagers’ knowledge, raising fears that it might have been sold illegally. He also noted that the acquisition of these titles violated the new land law, which gives sitting tenants first priority.
Minister Nabakooba promised that the fraudulent titles would be canceled. She instructed the ministry’s legal officer, Moses Ssekitto, to investigate how the titles were processed in 2013 and identify the responsible officials. “We shall locate them even if they are no longer in service. They must tell us who the neighbors were at that time because local signatures were expected on the acquisition documents,” she said.
She questioned why ownership claims suddenly appeared in 2014, despite people having lived on the land for decades. Based on preliminary findings, the minister declared that the issuance of these titles was null and void and assured the public that the cancellation process would begin after a public hearing.
Minister Nabakooba also criticized area land committees and district land boards for facilitating disputes, alleging bribery was often involved in issuing fraudulent titles. She urged residents to remain on their land and continue using it productively, warning that idle land becomes vulnerable to grabbers and conflicts. Police have been instructed to maintain the status quo until the ministry releases its final report.
The District Land Board chairperson reported that Nakibanga has about 80 titles issued under similarly questionable circumstances and requested one week to produce a detailed report on the land’s status.
This decisive action by Minister Nabakooba is being hailed as a major step toward protecting ancestral lands in Mpigi District and curbing fraudulent land dealings.
