‘Desist from giving out bribes to land officers’ – minister Nabakooba 

The traditional land tenure system in Uganda has several issues, one of which is land grabbing.

For years, customary landowners have struggled to prove that they own land when a grabber comes to claim it.

To prevent such incidents, the Ministry of Lands, Housing, and Urban Development established 22 zonal land offices throughout the country.

These zonal offices are where the public can obtain land services and all land transactions are processed.

However, conflicts and corruption allegations have been reported at some, if not all, of these land offices.

For example, in 2021, the ministry’s zonal office in Lira City was accused of providing multiple land titles and causing excessive delays in issuing titles to residents.

“There have also been complaints of issuing titles for public land and corruption..” NTV Uganda reported in 2021.

While touring Greater Mubende, Lands Minister Judith Nabakooba warned staff at zonal land offices not to solicit bribes while providing services.

“We have worked hard to eliminate these corrupt tendencies by introducing online services for land title management and others,” she said.

“However, selfish practices are still continuing. I urge members of the public to desist from giving out bribes to land officers.

“These services are free and must be enjoyed by everyone,” minister Nabakooba announced.

Dispossession, forced evictions, family and neighbour disputes, corruption, and land grabbing are just a few of the issues confronting Ugandan land management.