The Minister of Lands, Housing, and Urban Development, Judith Nabakooba, has announced that her ministry is currently dealing with a total of 2,134 court cases. She shared this information during an interview with on Wednesday.
“The office of titles has registered 2,134 cases where it is required to give evidence and/or for reasons of implementing the court decisions from 2014 up to date,” she stated.
Despite the government’s efforts to create laws and regulations to manage and harmonize the relationship between landlords and tenants, the ministry continues to receive reports of illegal evictions and the use of forged documents. These fake documents often include court orders used to evict tenants forcefully.
Nabakooba also highlighted that her ministry is handling numerous cases related to double titling, family succession issues, landlord-tenant disputes, double sales by registered property owners, and generational claims. Additionally, there are cases involving boundary disputes, illegal grants by district land boards, and the erroneous issuance of land titles.
The commission of inquiry into land matters, led by Justice Catherine Bamugemereire, recommended abolishing district land boards due to widespread corruption. The commission’s report, presented to the President in July 2020, revealed that district land boards frequently engage in corrupt and unethical behavior. The report documented cases where minutes of grants and approvals were forged or backdated. This corruption and unethical conduct were common among members of district land boards across the country.
The commission also noted that many wealthy individuals involved in land disputes acquired their land illegally, often by bribing officials within the land administration and registration systems. The report called for amendments to the law to reduce the excessive powers of the chief government valuer and the commissioner for land registration.
Nabakooba reminded Ugandans that the Land Act of 1998, as amended, includes provisions to protect tenants from evictions and aims to restore a harmonious relationship between landlords and tenants in Uganda.
Despite the government’s efforts to establish laws and regulations aimed at regulating and harmonizing the relationship between landlords and tenants, reports of illegal evictions and the use of forged documents persistently plague the ministry. Particularly concerning are instances where fake court orders are employed to forcefully evict tenants, disrupting communities and livelihoods.
Additionally, boundary disputes, illegal grants by district land boards, and errors in the issuance of land titles further compound the ministry’s legal woes.
