Defending the land of vulnerable people in Uganda
06 July 2007
In Uganda, there is a widespread belief that land belongs only to the man of the
house and that, when he dies, it passes to his clan rather than his wife. Many
Ugandan men also feel that, as the “head of the home”, they have the right to
sell family land without consulting their spouses. With women unaware of their
own rights, wrongful evictions are a common occurrence.
Also, with a fifth of all land in Uganda falling outside clear legal ownership,
communities who have lived in a place for generations can find themselves under
serious threat of becoming landless, as the Government tries to sell off their
homes. In this climate, there is a real need to raise awareness of land rights,
especially among poor people and women. Supported by DFID, the
Uganda Land
Alliance (ULA) aims to do just that, giving a voice to marginalised people and
bringing disputes to a peaceful close.
Gaining the right to your home
In 2005, ULA established land rights centres in six districts, from where it coordinated its efforts to educate local people in ownership issues. The centres also recruited volunteers from within the community to sit on land dispute committees and help resolve cases.
Image courtesy of ULA/Rose Mwebaza
Felitus Kures is a widow living in Kapchorwa, one of the districts where ULA has
operated. She has directly benefited from the advice she received through her
land rights centre. Here, she describes what happened to her family:
“My children and I were helpless upon the death of my dear husband. My in-laws
sold off our land without our knowledge and we only realised this when the buyer
came to evict us. However, with support from ULA, we were able to get back our
land and are now more confident and sure of how to defend our property”.
Giving power to communities
Image courtesy of ULA/Rose Mwebaza
As well as assisting individuals, ULA
has improved awareness of rights to communal land. One example is the work it
has carried out with the Benet community of Kapchorwa, north
eastern Uganda. Park rangers were staking a claim to the Benet’s land, but,
thanks to the help of ULA, the community achieved a high court ruling which
secured their access to the land, and stopped the rangers from harassing them.
Kadama Onuit, a Benet widow, explains how she and her people fought against
eviction:
“My ancestors were born next to this national park and the Government was forcing us off this land. The land alliance has shown us our rights to this land and the matter is now in court. We have a right to our ancestral land even if we are poor”.
Challenges to building a fairer system
Although the ULA has brought the land troubles of poor and marginalised groups to wider attention, and has helped secure the homes of individuals and communities, there are still challenges to overcome. For example, ULA land rights committees have found their work hampered by the slowness of land tribunals, with disputes often not being resolved as efficiently as they could be. Also, it can prove difficult to hold on to community volunteers, who are doing their mediating work without payment. The fact that most communities do not understand English is an additional obstacle; this has led to poor participation in ULA meetings (generally conducted in English). Following up and settling large disputes involving many people presents further practical challenges.
However, DFID's support for the Uganda Land Alliance has ensured that some
important advances have been made: more vulnerable
people are now aware of their rights, and are able to argue for them, and there
is a greater recognition throughout society of the need to protect and promote
those vitally important rights.
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Key Facts
- The Uganda Land Alliance is a consortium of 67 national and international NGOs lobbying and advocating for fair land laws and policies that address the land rights of poor, disadvantaged and vulnerable groups in Uganda.
- ULA is operating in six out of over 70 districts in Uganda (namely Luweero, Kibaale, Kapchorwa, Mbale, Kampala and Apac).
- ULA has produced simplified versions of Uganda’s land laws.
- DFID supported ULA with £122,000 for their project on “Enhancing Access, Control and Ownership of Land for Marginalized Groups for Sustainable Livelihoods” from May 2005 to May 2007.
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