Uganda - Land Governance Country Profile

2. Policy and Legal Framework for Land Governance in Uganda

In Uganda, the legal and policy framework guiding and governances is enshrined in a number of laws and regulations governing Land. The key ones are as follows:

2.1 Uganda's National Land Policy (2013)

The NLP provides a framework for articulating the role of land in national development, land ownership, distribution, utilization, alienability, management and control of land. This is intended ensure that the country transforms from a peasant society to a modern, industrialized and urbanized society.

The Policy has two major objectives: (1) to re-orient the land sector in national development by articulating management co-ordination between the land sector and other productive sectors in the economy; and (2) enhancing the contribution of the land sector to the social and economic development of the country.

The key issues outlined in the policy include:

• The creation of a customary register to facilitate registration of customary rights;

• Strengthening women's land rights through enactment of provisions promoting the regime of marital property law and joint ownership of land and property for married parties;

• The need to overhaul the existing institutional framework for land administration and land management through decentralization of land services by bringing land services nearer to the populace to make them more efficient, cost-effective and accessible;

• The re-institution of administrative Land Tribunals to handle escalating land conflicts and land evictions; and

• The legal recognition of the dual operation of both customary system and statutory system in land rights administration, land dispute resolution and land management by empowering customary authorities to perform their functions.

Among the key preliminary steps for implementing of the policy will be:

• Putting in place a secretariat and a multi-sectoral and multi-disciplinary committee to lead the implementation of the National Land Policy;

• Preparation of an Action Implementation Plan as a program of land reform with activities sequenced to include short term, medium and long term;

• Costing the reforms and packaging them as programs for stakeholders to choose which programs they would prefer to implement;

• Developing a plan of action/strategy for fundraising for the programs;

• Setting a time frame for review of laws relating to land, as well drafting the proposed new laws;

• Developing indicators for monitoring and measuring program implementation;

• Designing and strengthening structures for coordination of implementation; and

• Defining roles of the different stakeholders, including development partners: CSOs, NGOs, Academia, Researchers, and other non-state actors.

The following have been achieved in the implementation of Uganda National Land Policy:

• Establishment of National Policy Secretariat to coordinate land reforms and prepare action plans that covers all the aspects needed;

• Stakeholder mapping exercise;

• Gender Strategy for implementing the land policy;

• Developing monitoring and evaluation measures to assess the progress and efficacy of the implementation of the policy;

• Stakeholders engagement. Established a donor working group; and

• Review of land policies and laws and identify areas that need reform and policies and laws that need harmonisation.

2.2 The Constitution of the Republic of Uganda (1995)

The 1995 Constitution of Uganda under Article 237 provides that land shall be vested in the citizens in accordance with the four land tenure systems, namely, freehold, leasehold, mailo and customary. Article 238 establishes the Uganda Land Commission to hold and manage any land in Ugandavested in or acquired by the Government of Uganda. Article 242 provides that Government may, under laws made by Parliament and policies made from time to time, regulate the use of land.

2.3 The Land Act Cap 227 as Amended in 2001, 2004 and 2010

The Land Act under section 2 provides four forms of land tenure systems in Uganda which include Customary, Leasehold, Freehold and Mailo. Under the Act a person can acquire certificate of customary ownership and can convert customary tenure to freehold tenure

Under section 15, the Act recognizes the right of people to hold communal land. Any group of persons may form a Communal Land Association for any purpose connected with communal ownership and management of land, whether under customary law or otherwise. The Communal Land Association may also form a common land management scheme by which the members agree to manage the communal land and to set out their rights and duties. Section 17 stipulates that one-third of the officers of such an Association need to be women.

Section 29 grants bona fide occupants property rights. The following are established under the Act.

• Land Fund (Section 41)

• Uganda Land Commission (Section 46)

• District land boards ( Section 56)

• Land committees ( Section 64)

• District land tribunals (Section 74).

• Section 40 was amended in 2004 by broadening the definition of spousal land and preventing a spouse’s objection to its sale from lapsing.

Section 39 requires that before any transaction can be carried out on land on which a family resides or from which it derives a sustenance, the spouse, dependent children of majority age and the Land Committee, in case of children under the age of majority, must provide written consent.

Under the Land Amendment Act (2001), Section 98 was amended to provide for extension of the time limit within which magistrates courts and local council courts are authorised to continue dealing with land disputes pending before them prior to the commencement of the land act. It should be noted that the land tribunals were established but are not yet operational.

Under Land Amendment Act of 2004, Section 38 was amended by introducing section 38A on security of occupancy on family land by every spouse. The Section gives family land a broader definition to mean ordinary residence, land from which the family derives sustenance, land which the family voluntarily agrees to be treated as such or which is treated as family land according to the norms, culture, customs, traditions or religion of the family.

The 2004 amendment in Section 39 excludes the children’s consent as was the requirement under the principle Act in respect to any sale of family land. It now only spousal consent that is required before any family land can be sold, exchanged, transferred, mortgaged or leased. Under Section 40 the amendment on the issue of citizenship provides that any non-citizen who immediately before the coming into force of the Constitution held land as lessee on conversion within the meaning of the Land Reform Decree, 1975 shall be deemed to have continued to hold a lease for ninety nine years from the first day of June, 1975.” This settles the effects of the land Reform Decree of 1975 that had destabilised the land tenure system of Uganda. Section 64 of the amendment provides for the establishment of the land committees on the advice of the Sub-county or Division Council, in accordance with this section, appoint a Land Committee at Sub-County or Division level which shall exercise the functions conferred on a Committee. The District Land Tribunal is established under the amendment of section 74 and their membership is therein provided. The Act amends Section 2 of the Registration of Titles Act by substituting Registrar with Commissioner among other things.

The 2010 Land Amendment Act introduces Section 32A which seeks to enhance the protection of lawful and bona fide occupants who shall not be evicted from registered land except upon an order of eviction issued by a court and only for non-payment of the annual nominal ground rent. It further amends Section 35 by introducing 1(a) that makes provision for the tenant by occupancy to give the owner of land the first option before assigning the tenancy by occupancy.

2.4 The Condominium Properties Act 2001

The purpose of this Act is to provide for the division of building into units and common property, to provide for individual ownership of those units by issuance of certificates of title in relation to the units, to provide for ownership of common property by proprietors of units as tenants in common, to provide for the use and management of the units and common property and for other connected matters.

The Act under Section 7 provides for Common Property where the Registrar shall, upon opening a separate part of the Register for a unit under section 4, record in that part the unit factor, record that unit factor on the certificate of title issued in respect of the unit. The common property comprised in a registered condominium plan shall be held by the owners of all the units as tenants in common in shares proportional to the unit factors for their respective units.

A share in the common property shall not, subject to this Act, be disposed of or become subject to a charge except as appurtenant to the unit of an owner. A disposition of, or a charge on a unit shall operate to dispose of or charge that share in the common property without express reference to it.

2.5 Physical Planning Act 2010

This Act provides for the establishment of a National Physical Planning Board, to provide for the composition, functions and procedure of the Board, to establish district and urban physical planning committees, to provide for the making and approval of physical development plans and for the applications for development permission and for related matters.

The Act under Section 3 provides that the entire country is declared a planning area and this Act shall apply to the entire country in all respects. Section 4 establishes the Board to be known as the National Physical Planning Board to consist of nine members appointed by the Minister of whom five shall be persons not employed in the public service who shall hold office for a term of three years subject to re appointment for one more term.

The Board shall be a body corporate and shall have perpetual succession and a common seal and the seal shall be authenticated by the signature of the chairperson and the secretary. Among the functions of the board under Section 6 is to advise government on all matters relating to physical planning, to hear and determine appeals lodged by persons or local governments aggrieved by the decision of any physical planning committees and to advise the government on broad physical planning policies, planning standards and the viability of any proposed subdivision of urban or agricultural land among others.

Section 9 provides for the establishment of a district physical planning committee, in each district with the function of to cause to be prepared local physical development plans, through its officers, agents or any qualified physical planners; to recommend to the Board development applications for change of land use; to recommend to the district council subdivision of land which may have a significant impact on contiguous land or be in breach of any condition registered against a title deed in respect of such land among others.

Each urban authority or city shall establish an urban physical planning committee with the following functions to cause to be prepared urban and local physical development plans and detailed plans, to recommend development applications to the Board for change of land use, to recommend to the urban council, subdivision of land which may have significant impact on contiguous land or be in breach of any condition registered against a title deed in respect of such land.

A sub county council under Section 13 shall constitute the local physical planning committee with the following functions:

1. Initiating the preparation of local physical development plans;
2. Recommending local physical development plans to the district physical planning committee for consideration;
3. Recommending to the district physical planning committee the approval of local physical development plans;
4. Implementing structure plans, in close consultation with the district physical planner; and
5. Implementing, in close consultation with the district physical planner, detailed plans and area action plans which shall address the matters specified in the Third Schedule.

2.6 Land Acquisition Act Cap 223

The Act makes provision for the compulsory acquisition of land for public purposes and for matters incidental thereto and connected therewith. Section 2 provides for power of the minister to enter onto land to ascertain the suitability for its acquisition by the government. The Act further provides that Government shall pay compensation to any person who suffers damage as a result of the exercise of the powers of acquisition. Any dispute as to the compensation payable under this section shall be referred by the Attorney General to the court for decision.

Under Section 3, whenever the Minister is satisfied that any land is required by the Government for a public purpose, he or she may, by statutory instrument, make a declaration to that effect. The declaration shall be published upon which notice shall be given to the affected persons to bring any complaints in respect to such acquisition.

2.7 Survey Act Cap 232

The purpose of this Act is to regulate the survey of lands. Section 4 provides for the establishment of a board to be known as the Surveyors Licensing Board which shall consist of the commissioner as chairperson and not less than three other members. The members of that board shall be appointed by the Minister, and two of the members shall be licensed surveyors. A member, other than the chairperson, shall hold office for a period of three years, but shall be eligible for reappointment. A member, other than the chairperson, may at any time, by writing under his or her hand addressed to the chairperson, resign his or her membership on the board.

The Board is under obligation to make arrangements for the examination of persons seeking to be licensed as surveyors in accordance with the Act, to issue, on the payment of the prescribed fees, a licence to any person to whom a licence may be granted in accordance with the Act, to keep a register of licensed surveyors, subject as hereafter provided, to take disciplinary proceedings against licensed surveyors; and to perform such other functions as are conferred on the board by the Act.

2.8 The Registration of Titles Act Cap 230

The RTA relates to the transfer of land and registration of titles. The Act provides that a certificate of title is conclusive evidence of ownership of the land in respect to which it describes by the person in whose name it is registered.

The Act provides for protection of legal and equitable interests in registered land through lodging caveats thereto such as under section 86 of the Act.

The Act governs dealings in respect to registered land such as transfers under Section 92 where the proprietor of land or of a lease or mortgage or of any estate, right or interest therein respectively may transfer the same by a transfer in one of the forms in the Seventh Schedule to this Act; but where the consideration for a transfer does not consist of money, the words “the sum of” in the forms of transfer in that Schedule shall not be used to describe the consideration, but the true consideration shall be concisely stated.