The Ministry of Lands has announced that it will cancel all land titles issued in wetlands and other public government spaces in a bid to streamline land ownership and protect the environment.
The Minister of Lands , Judith Nabakooba during a press briefing at the Ministry headquarters in Kampala said that over 400 land titles have already been cancelled under the guidance of the Attorney General on the titles issued after the enactment of the land Act in 1998.
Nabakooba said landtiles to be affected all those issued in forest reserves, wetlands, riverbanks, and lakeshores among others.
“These titles should be cancelled under section 91 of the Land Act for having been issued in error or illegally. The owners of the said titles are similarly not entitled to any compensation,” the Minister said adding that those who will be affected will be informed of other available options to either obtain a license or a permit to utilize these areas.
“They will be subjected to the restrictions provided for under section 54 (11) of the National Environment Act and Regulation 11 (2) of the National Environment Management,” she said .
Nabakooba further stated that the problem of multiple titling of land which is escalating land conflicts originating from survey works is being addressed by digitizing land titles.
“With time, no new entry of a land title sitting on another will be allowed by the system since these anomalies will quickly detected. The practice now is that for any new title made- the documents are immediately scanned into the system with details of the parties involved in the transaction.”
While updating the public about the ministry’s achievements under her leadership Nabakooba said that land has been bought for people in greater Ankole, Bunyoro and in central regions through the Uganda Land Fund.
She said government has issued 59,635 customary land certificates to families and communities in various districts. The ministry has also held awareness weeks in Kigezi, Lango Sub-regions and Mityana to strengthen the capacity of customary land owners by sensitizing people about their land rights and obligations.
The ministry also had a free land title verification open day in Kayuga, Mukono district which attracted 180 land owners and in greater Mubende districts of Mityana, Kassanda, Kyankwanzi, Kiboga, and Mubende districts where 3,201 people attended.
