Bamugemereire: The scorecard

They have possibly passively just talked about the problems and promised solutions that have not come. Yearning for delayed justice from government, some aggrieved land owners have stripped naked, killed and injured others in search for answers regarding their land. 

Observers say that the 2016 general election that saw people raise land related issues to politicians whenever they campaigned in their areas and the subsequent initiatives started by some politicians among them being, former Presidential candidate, Kizza Besigye, who has been running a campaign against land grabbing dubbed; ‘my land; my life’ could be some of the reasons that forced the president to institute the commission of inquiry as a way of showing the people that he is working on their queries.

At the end of its work, the commission is expected to make recommendations for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the land law, policies and process of land acquisition, land administration, management and land registration in Uganda and proposing necessary reforms.

Mandate of the commission

Instituted by President Museveni in September last year, its mandate was informed by rampant land evictions, complaints relating to land grabbing, delayed transactions in land issues, unfair treatment of genuine land owners, tenants and other problems related to land acquisition, administration and management and titling.

So far, since May 9, when it commenced its public hearings, it has engaged with high-level lawyers, academicians, government ministers, cultural leaders, politicians, government technocrats, opinion leaders and civil society organisations, businessmen, farmers and more.

Beyond its headquarters housed at the National Records Centre and Archives, Plot 8-10 – Lourdel Road, Wandegeya – Kampala, the commission has visited the communities of Wakiso, Luweero and Jinja districts and conducted field investigations and made on-spot stops at land and ministerial zonal offices.

“We have followed up these field visits by hearing out witnesses both inside and outside the respective districts we have been to; we have additionally followed up specific land issues raised that fall within the ambit of our terms of reference,” Bamugemereire told a press conference on July 6, at the commission’s headquarters a day before she led her team for a technical break due to lack of funds.

She added that the commission has, on specific occasions, made interventions within its mandate “to ensure that the status quo of land matters under scrutiny is preserved and our witnesses are not harassed.”

Will it work where others have failed?

Experts conversant with Uganda’s land issues say Bamugemereire’s commission seems to be addressing issues already taken care of in the Land Policy of 2013 which attempted to appreciate the history of Uganda’s land problems and linked most challenges to the colonial era that ushered in the 1900 Buganda Agreement and Idi Amin’s 1975 Land Decree which saw the government nationalize land ownership.

Apart from local experts, international agencies like the World Bank have also spoken out before.

In its recent report titled, “Searching for the Grail—Can Uganda’s land support its prosperity drive?” the World Bank says that the government is faced with the critical challenge of identifying policies and actions that could raise productivity and household incomes.

According to the report, about 60% of households in Uganda own land but only 39% of individually owned land was purchased; 37% of such land cannot be sold, 34% cannot be rented, and 44% of land cannot be used as security for a loan.

This limits the role that land can play in facilitating transformation and development in Uganda. It is from such mixed land statistics that the Washington D.C based institution bases to urge government to reform the manner in which land is managed if Uganda is to achieve the much needed transformation.

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