KIBOGA.
President Museveni has intervened in long standing land disputes pitting sitting tenants against landlords in Kiboga District .
The President spent the better part of Wednesday in the district interacting with area leaders, affected residents and landlords to know the root cause of the conflict .
“After watching a recent land eviction case on TV, I felt compelled to take action on these matters. Serious issues such as assault, theft, and double titling are prevalent, yet any land disputes should be resolved in court rather than through unlawful evictions,” Mr Museveni posted on his X handle .The President was accompanied by Energy Minister Ruth Nankabirwa, who hails from the district, Inspector General of Police Abbas Byakagaba and a team from Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
He explained that in Uganda, there are four categories of mailo land occupants- those placed by the landlord or agent, bona fide occupants (who must have been present since before 1983), inheritors, and buyers.
“Those who illegally evict or harass occupants will face consequences; however, some people may fabricate land claims and should also be held accountable. We will utilise improved technology to address the problem of overlapping titles.,” the president said
Land has in the last two decades become a sticky issue in many districts across Uganda where wealthy people with land titles are evicting poor tenants from what they call their ancestral land claiming that they are illegally settling on the land. In the process repossessing their land, many landlords have been chased away by angry tenants and in some instances the landlords have been lynched or harmed. Usually, politicians use land evictions as a campaign tool to get votes during elections. It is on this basis that the government is pushing for land reforms which state officials say are aimed at curing land grabbing.
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