Abstract

As per question stressed above, I approached it by defining what land is. I looked at different
land tenure systems, considered customary land tenure as a predominant one is the northern
region of my choice, I explained the causes of land disputes in the northern region and lastly
discussed the effect of given provisions of land Act on land disputes situation in the northern
region both using the case law and sections in the land Act cap.227.

Definition of Land

Land can be defined to a lay people as solid portion of the earth and surface1. However in law
the term “Land” means more than that. The common law definition of land is summed up in the
Latin Maxim, Luis est solum cius est usque ad cocolum et ad inferos. Literally the maxim means
that person to whom the soil belongs also owns the heavens above and everything below it.*

The statutory definition of land also indicates that the concept of land covers much more than the
physical portion of the earth’s surface.

Section 1(j) of the Registation of Titles Act2 defines land as including messages,
resources,tenements and hereditaments of corporcal or incorporcal.

In the case of Bernstain of Leigh(Baron)-V- Skyviews and General Limited 3stands for the
proposition that land includes the air space above the surface to a height the owner might
conceivably use.

The common law definition of land includes everything that attaches to it as in the Latin maxim
quic quid plantator solo,solo cedit. Literally translated it to mean that which attaches to the land
goes with it.

Following the nature of land holding, Article 237 (3)* stipulates that land in Uganda shall be
owned in accordance with the following land tenure systems. Tenure refers to ones right to own
and use land. It defines how access is granted to right to use, control and transfer land as well as
associated obligations and restraints*.these are the various land tenure systems in Uganda;

1
Principles of land laws in Uganda by John Mugambwa.
2
Cap 230
3
(1978)QB 479.
 a) Free hold tenure derives its origin from the 1903 crown lands ordinance, adjudicated
free holds and native free holds. Under the crown lands ordinances, land was acquired by
the crown through treaties with the native rulers and land that fell under the protectorate
by virtue of its existences.
b) Lease Hold tenure. This is provided for under Article 237(3) d4. Ownership by lease as
stipulated in article 237(3)c as non citizens may acquire leases in land in accordance with
the laws prescribed by Parliament and the laws so prescribed shall define a noncitizen for
purpose of this paragraph. In the case Street v Mountford5,lease hold was defined as the
a tenure where one party granted rights to another to exclusive possession of land for a
specific period in return for the payment in monetary terms
c) Mailo system of land tenure as provided for under article 237(c)6, is a form of land
tenure deriving its legality from the constitution and its incidents from the written law
which involves holding registered land in perpetuity subject to the rights of lawful
occupant as that person occupying land by the virtue of the repeated Busuulu and Envujjo
law of 1928. A person who entered the land with the consent of the registered owner at
the time of acquiring the leasehold certificate of title. Section 29(2)7, a bonafide occupant
means a person who before the coming into force of the constitution, had occupied and
utilized or developed any land un challenged by the registered owner or agent of the
registered owner for twelve years or more or had been settled on the land by the
government or an agent of the government.
d) Considering Customary tenure as a predominant nature in land holding in Uganda .it is
on record that most land in Uganda is held under customary tenure except land in
Buganda and urban areas. Section 3(1 )(b)8 stipulates that customary tenure is the form of
tenure subject to section 27,governed by the rules generally accepted as binding and
authoritative by the class of persons to which it applies9

4
The constitution of the Republic of Uganda (1995).

5
(1985) AC 824.
6
The constitution of the Republic of Uganda (1995).
7
Land Act cap 227.
8
Land Act cap 227
9
Land Act cap 227
Customary tenure being the most predominant nature of system in northern part of Uganda, to a
larger extent has led to land disputes in “Northern part” of Uganda as discussed below;

Having land as the most important asset in most parts of the world that people can own including
in Uganda and most especially the northern parts for example Acholi land as an area of concern
majorly in my research, it has caused a lot of bloodshed. It is on the record that land disputes in
Uganda are wide spread affecting 33% to 50% of landholders. In Acholi as already highlighted
as my major point of view, land disputes are the most significant firm of conflict, with many
escalating into violence.

Amor district being one in the Acholi land has experienced the land disputes where oil has
recently been discovered and where the government has given away large tracts of land.

Land disputes to a larger extent have occurred in Northern region of Uganda most especially in
Acholi land and Appa area and the underlying causes are as follows;

Economic interests escalate the most land disputes in Acholi land.

This includes survival and desire to increase personal wealth. Land is looked at as a key
economic asset in most Acholi families and it should be noted that conflict a rise here when these
families compete for use of the same piece of land and the fact that there is an exacerbated
perception that land is increasingly scarce, people continue eyeing it hence conflicts cropping
up.

Selling of land for cash,

It should be noted that the fact that land in the northern region is held customarily, conflicts here
arise when one family sells the land without the consent of the other family members or
relatives. This has mostly occurred among the youth as its on record that they like selling off
their parents land without consenting with them. This also results into conflicts.

Private investment has also sparked off land disputes in Northern Uganda.

This happens when the private sector actors attempt to acquire land in a non-transparent manner
without full consent of the community. This has been looked at as on a selfish beneficiary
interest to increase personal wealth which the community cannot agree to and thus people end up
resorting to spears killing one another. Land is the most important asset in most parts of the
world that people can own including in Uganda. In Buganda, land is the way of life as the
kingdoms10.Land is the major asset across the country, it is the largest means of production since
our economy is agriculture-based. This has resulted into conflicts in most parts of Uganda. A
point in the case is the skirmishes that led to the people losing their lives for example in Appa in
northern Uganda.

Ignorance of the law.

It should be appreciated as the fact that the majority number of the population in the northern
region is green about the law concerning the right procedures of land dispute settlement. It’s
from this point of view that people resort to picking up pagers and spears hunting down their
fellows over issues which could be settled amicably by the courts of law using the law provisions
or through mediations. One can’t do away with the law and at the time claim that there is justice.
This escalates disputes in the region

Beucratic tendencies,

This is effect to the police force trying to investigate and gathering evidence over the land
conflicts in a timely manner. This has proved a major weakness in the police force for instance
where it allies with the land grabbers leaving the public frustrated.

Case backlogs

This happens in the way that courts depend on investigations by the police to try cases, when the
investments are not adequate, there is not only so much that the courts can do, this weakens and
frustrates the litigants, Another frustrating scenario is the lawyers having land cases stretching
for more than decades un attended too. A high court Division responsible for land issues does not
solve them on time. It has been often seen when Judges and magistrates don’t turn up or simply
adjourn sessions. More so, judicial officers are transferred before studying files all over again.
This has left people in the northern desperate, withdrawing their trust in the courts of law and the
decision to handle these issues by themselves has culminated into people ending up hurting down
their counter parts eventually giving rise to disputes in the region.

10
. www.monitor.co.ug commentary
The issue of population growth,

It is worthy noting that in northern part of Uganda, it is believed that the more number of
children one has, the more security that family is likely to come up with. Nevertheless, such
families are looked at as being superior over the others regarding the number of wives one has
and children. This has resulted into high levels of birth basing on this false and a chiasm .It has
made land to increase in its values, making it a very important resource than it was many years a
go. It is little surprising that many years back, there were empty spaces across the country most
especially the Northern region like Ngulu. Today, there isn’t much land that is occupied by the
people. This has inevitably led to conflicts over land.

The existences of loopholes in the registration process of land titles.

This depicts a lot of inefficiency and confusion in all the country’s land registries. There are
cases of double certificates of title over the same piece of land. Conveyance takes too long. It can
be very frustrating to verify land ownership and transfer land from one entity to another. As it is
further provided for under the Registration of Titles Act 11 stipulates that no instrument will pass
until registered in the manner her been provided shall be effectual to pass any estate or to render
the land liable to any mortgage. The process in practice is really long and can end up being sold
to other person which highly brings in the untrustworthiness among people thus fighting another
hence disputes. This was the position in the case Ndigejjerawa v Kizito and Kubulwamwana,
this is where land was sold to two different people by the plaintiff and at the end everyone wss
claiming land to be his. There are such incidences that arouse conflicts hence disputes.

Uganda’s land tenure system has culminated into land conflicts.

According to the Ugandan constitution12, Article 287 stipulates that land in Uganda belongs to
the citizens of Uganda and shall vest in them in accordance with the land tenure systems
provided for in the constitution. These are classed as customary, freehold, mailo and lease hold.
Under the constitution, citizens owing land under customary ownership have to acquire
certificates of ownership in a manner prescribed by parliament. However, parliament has yet to
prescribe this consequently; the majority of the community members do not have land titles or

11
Cap 230.sec 54 as amended in 2004.
12
1995
certificates. In other words, this can be stressed in the line with ignorance of the law. People
down in the villages lack the knowledge of these existing tenures and the fact that they are many,
they fail to know which is better and up facing the negative part of the law regardless of the
tenure they decide to take on. This in long run bleeds land disputes.

The likely effects of given provisions of land Act on land disputes situation in northern region
are as follows;

As it is on record that land wrangles account for 80% of cases in Northern Uganda13, it was after
20 years of insurgency by Lord’s Resistance Army (IRA) rebels in Northern Uganda, many
would assume peace returned in the area but land disputes emerged and this came into place
when all people were forced into the IDP camps, but were surprised to land encroaches on their
land on return.

Though section 29(2)14 a stipulates that a person who had occupied and utilized or developed
Mosoke Bufirawala v Jogga15, the high court ordered the landowner to pay compensation to the
defendants for improvements he had made on the land. The same decision was followed in the
case Babiruga v karegyesa and others16 .Any land un challenged by the registered owner or
agent of the registered owner for a period of 12 years or more, the effect to the section positively
is that a person cannot be evicted. But this was an order where everyone had been forced into the
IDP camps and it wasn’t the people’s intention to move to camps. So when the government
failed to compensate these landless people, bloodshed became the order of the day and
negatively this is to effect to section 29(2)17 of the Land Act18

Section 3(a)19, the government is meant to compensate the registered owners whose land has
been occupied by the person resettled by the government under resettlement scheme but this
wasn’t the case when the people in Pader district returned from the camps where they had been

13
by vision reporter 12th November 2014 05:27pm.
14
Land Act
15
Cs No 33 of 1973.
16
1993.
17
Land Act
18
Land Act cap( 227)
19
Land Act
forcefully settled, they found squatters on their land. It became difficult for the clan leaders to
send a way the squatters because they were also homeless. It’s a matter of encouraging the
rightful owners and encroachers to share the land with them and live in harmony. It’s on record
that the rightful people of Acholi land where not compensated; this triggered fights among the
natives the disputes in the land.

Though section 5720, stipulates functions of the land board as to hold and allocate land in the
registration and transfer of interest in land. It remained a pseudo in Acholi land where some of
the members of the mediation team as reported to have had conflicts of interest in land, no
wonder it’s a reason as to why even small cases failed to be solved thus sustaining the land
disputes in Northern part of Uganda.

Effect to section 2021, its stresses out that in case of any dispute arises, the district registrar
should refer the dispute to the board or such other person as he or she considers suitable to act as
a conciliator to mediate the dispute between the members. The section did not spell out the
jurisdiction of the people supposed to settle the land in northern Uganda is owned communally
and clans. Any dispute is first taken to clan leaders for consultations and mediation. Though the
section advocates for the district registrar to be the one handling these disputes, it is on record
that these people also hand self interest in people land and the natives no wonder could not trust
them with their cases on land disputes. Negatively this exposed many loopholes regarding the
way disputes are settled thus disputes taking more roots in the area.

22
The same section 20(2) stipulates that where the district registrar of titles has intervened in a
dispute within an association shall comply with any directions given by that officer on
connection with the resolution of that dispute and shall cooperate with the person appointed by
that officer to assist in resolving the dispute. Negatively this culminated into more wrangles,
discomforts, dissatisfactions among the members in the area because the fact that land was held
customarily , there was a sense of entrust worthy to the registrars other than their fellow clan
leaders and chiefs. The natives and this was even depicted when even small cases used to take

20
land Act
21
land Act (CAP 227)
22
Land Act (CAP 227)
long to be attended to. The effect of this section is that it was not an appropriate solution to the
dispute concerns of the natives in the community.

Section 27 of the land Act23, any decision taken in respect of land held under customary tenure,
whether in respect of land held individually or communally shall be in accordance with the
customs, traditions and practices of the community concerned. Positively this section resolved
land disputes in the northern part of Uganda in the cases where land was held discriminatively.
This is on record where women were denied land because of their gender considered inferior.
This was mostly in the widows, children, the efficacy of this law was well illustrated in the case
of Kulubya –v-sigh24, in that case it was held that where prohibition was intended to protect a
particular class of people, any member of that class is entitled to recover consideration and in so
doing, disputes are being solved among the people in the region.

Conclusion

It is right to assert that land disputes in northern region have been majorly caused by the laws,
ignorance, false assumptions of the people that gave rise to high population growth hence
mounting much pressure on the limited pieces of land. However, it should be noted that the
appreciation of the law can also be the best solution towards such land disputes in the area,
sensitization of the people on the prevailing land tenure systems among others.

23
CAP 227
24
(1963)
References

The Constitution of the Republic of Uganda 1995.

Land Act Cap. 227

Registration of Titles Act. Cap.230

Principles of land law in Uganda John.T. Mugabwa.

Source Book on land law in Uganda. J . Mugabwa.