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Handbook On Land Ownership, Rights, Interests And Acquisition In Uganda2.15Licence2.17Legal interest in landPermission to enter another person’sland for some specific purpose, whichwithout such authorization wouldamount to trespass. A licence neithergrants the licensee exclusivepossession nor an interest in the land.This refers to an interest held in landby a land owner who has registeredunder the Registration of Titles Actso as to give the world notice ofhis or her ownership8 for instanceowners of land in the mailo, freeholdand leasehold tenures who have beenregistered.2.16Interests and Rightsin landAn interest relates to ownership whichmight be legal (registered owner andhis or her successors) or equitable (forexample tenants in occupancy orunregistered land owners). Interestsare different from rights to land whichrelate to use of the land for a specificpurpose with the consent of the landowner.7782.18Equitable interest in landThis refers to an interest held in landwhich has not been registered forinstance tenants by occupancy,interest of a spouse in family landand a purchaser of land who has notyet been registered as the land owneramong others. All interests whichhave not been registered under theRegistration of Titles Act areequitable interests.Ssesazi Kulabilawo v.Robinah Nalubega Court of Appeal Civil Appeal No. 55 of 2000.Section 54 of the Registration of Titles Act.10

Handbook On Land Ownership, Rights, Interests And Acquisition In Uganda2.19Persons having aninterest in landAll persons who claim an interest inrespect of land which the governmentseeks to acquire under the LandAcquisition Act including personshaving an interest in an easementaffecting the said land.92.20Land TransactionsThese include selling, leasing,mortgaging or pledging, subdividing,creating rights and interests for otherpeople in the land and creating trustsof the land. (Section 3 (2) of the LandAct)2.21Family Land2.22Ordinary ResidenceRefers to the place where a personcontinuously resides and a placewhich such person intends to makehis or her home for an indefiniteperiod. (Section 38A of the Land Act asamended in 2004)2.23Land from which afamily derives sustenanceMeans— (a) land which the familyfarms; or (b) land which the familytreats as the principal place whichprovides the livelihood of thefamily; or (c) land which the familyfreely and voluntarily agrees, shall betreated as the family’s principal placeor source of income for food.(Section 38A of the Land Act as amendedin 2004)Refers to land— (a) where theordinary residence of a family issituated; (b) where the ordinaryresidence of the family is situated andfrom which the family derivessustenance; (c) which is treated asfamily land according to the norms,culture, customs, traditions orreligion of the family. (Section 38A ofthe Land Act as amended in 2004)9Section 1 (f) of the Land Acquisition Act.11

Handbook On Land Ownership, Rights, Interests And Acquisition In Uganda2.24Caveat2.26EvictionsA document which a person whoclaims an interest in registered landregisters at the Registry of Lands inorder to stop any transactions frombeing carried out in respect to theland. A caveat filed by a spouse onfamily land is a spousal caveat while acaveat filed by a beneficiary is abeneficiary’s caveat.This means removal of a tenant byoccupancy or Kibanja holder fromland by a land owner. An eviction isillegal if the lawful or bonafideoccupant or Kibanja holder isremoved with a threat or use ofviolence without a court order.11 Itis also an illegal eviction where theactions of a land owner make itdifficult or unsafe for occupants tostay on the land so they are forced toleave.2.25Land GrabbingThis means the unlawful and illegaltaking away of land belonging to anindividual or a group of people.10 Itcan be on a large scale by wealthyindividuals or public, private andforeign investors and is usuallycharacterized by force and violenceagainst land owners or occupantsregardless of whether it is registeredland or not registered.1011122.27ResettlementThis means movement of individualsor groups of people from onelocation to another and providingthem with land, shelter and otherbasic needs.12 It can be on apermanent or temporary basis.Land and Equity Movement Uganda (LEMU) (2009), “How does Land Grabbing Happen?” August 2009.Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, (2015), “What the Law says on Evictions.”Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, (2015), “Role of Chief Government Valuer (CGV) of theRepublic of Uganda.”12

Handbook On Land Ownership, Rights, Interests And Acquisition In Uganda2.28Compensation2.30ValuationThis is money paid to a person withan interest in land to make up for theloss suffered when the governmenttakes their land through compulsoryacquisition. It must be fair andadequate and should be paid in time,before the land is taken. (MOLHUD,“Guidelines for Compesation, Assesmentunder Land Acquisition,” June 2017)This is the process of determiningthe value of land and structures on it.This is a key process duringcompulsory acquisition to determinethe amount of compensation to bepaid to the land owner.2.29Ground RentThis is money paid annually to landowners tenants by occupancy andKibanja holders. The amount paid asground rent paid by tenants byoccupancy and Kibanja holders isnominal and determined by DistrictLand Boards with the approvval ofthe Minister. Failure to pay groundrent is the only ground for evictingtenants by land owners.13

Handbook On Land Ownership, Rights, Interests And Acquisition In Uganda237. Land ownership.(1) Land in Uganda belongs to the citizens of Uganda andshall vest in them in accordance with the land tenure systemsprovided for in this Constitution.(2) Notwithstanding clause (1) of this articlc(a) the Government or a local government may, subject toarticle 26 of this Constitution, acquire land in the publicinterest; and the conditions governing such acquisition shallbe as prescribed by Parliament;(b) the Government or a local government as determinedby Parliament by law shall hold in trust for the people andprotect natural lakes, rivers, wetlands, forest reserves, gamereserves, national parks and any land to be reserved forecological and touristic purposes for the common good ofall citizens;(c) non citizens may acquire leases in land in accordance withthe laws prescribed by Parliament, and the laws so prescribedshall define a non citizen for the purposes of this paragraph.14

Handbook On Land Ownership, Rights, Interests And Acquisition In Uganda3LANDOWNERSHIP15

Handbook On Land Ownership, Rights, Interests And Acquisition In UgandaArticle 237(1) of the Constitutionstates that land belongs to the citizensof Uganda and Article 26(1) protectsthe right to own property eitherindividually or in association withothers for instance groups of peoplewho hold land communally.The citizens of Uganda hold landunder four (4) tenure systems namelyFreehold, Mailo, Leasehold andCustomary. (Article 237 (3) of the 1995Constitution of Uganda and Section 2 ofthe Land Act)a.Freehold Tenure refers toland held/owned by an individualregistered on the certificate of titleas the land owner for life. There areno tenants by occupancy and Kibanjaholders on this land.An owner of freehold has thefollowing rights:i.Using and developing theland;ii.Entering into landtransactions;Freehold land is the most popular formost Ugandans. Leasehold andcustomary land can be converted tofreehold land. (Sections 28 and 29 of theLand Act)b.Mailo Tenure is land held bya land owner which has its roots fromthe 1900 Uganda Agreement and1928 Busullu Envujjo Law. It is mainlyin the Buganda region,currently central Uganda. Both theland owner registered on thecertificate of tittle and tenants byoccupancy and Kibanja holders haveinterests on this land.Mailo land owners have the samerights as freehold land owners, butthey must respect the rights of lawfuland bona fide occupants andKibanja holders to occupy and live onthe land. (Section 3 (4) of the Land Act)In matters of compulsory acquisitionof mailo land, the land owner, tenantsby occupancy and Kibanja holders areentitled to adequate and faircompensation.iii.Taking and usingproduce from the land;andiv.Giving away the land toany person in a will.(Section 3 (2) of the Land Act)16

Handbook On Land Ownership, Rights, Interests And Acquisition In Ugandac.Leasehold Tenure is land which a land owner allows anotherperson to take exclusive possession for a specific period of three years ormore in exchange for rent. A lease may be created either under a contractbetween the parties or by law. The person granted a lease must use the landfor the specific purpose as agreed with the land owner. (Section 3(5) of theLand Act)A lease is created by law where;i)The person granted the leasedies and his or her successor isregistered as the new lessee;ii)A non-citizen person orcompany which acquires land inUganda because non-citizens cannotown mailo, freehold or customaryland;iii)A Ugandan who holds landin freehold and mailo tenure losestheir citizenship, their landautomatically changes to a lease of99 years.13 This is because anon-citizen can only own land inleasehold tenure. (Section 40 of theLand Act)1314During the process of compulsoryacquisition of leasehold land by thegovernment, the law recognizes twointerests over the property inquestion:i)The rights of the persongranted a lease; andii)The interest of the landowner.14Therefore, both these parties areentitled to compensation from thegovernment in the event ofcompulsory acquisition.The Land Act as amended in 2004, Section 40 (6)Id., Section 3(5)(a) - (e).17

Handbook On Land Ownership, Rights, Interests And Acquisition In Ugandad.Customary Tenure is wherethe land is owned based on the normsand traditions of a given society orcommunity. One can even own landindividually under customary tenureas long as it has been handed downfrom generation to generation usingthat society’s customs.15Special protection is accorded to therights of women, children andpersons with a disability to own,occupy or use customary land.(Section 27 of the Land Act)In 2015, the government of Ugandaintroduced Certificates of CustomaryOwnership (CCOs) for owners ofcustomary land. A customary landowner can apply for a CCO as proofof ownership of the land.Any person, family orcommunity holding landunder customary tenureon former public land mayacquire a certificate ofcustomery ownership inrespect of that land.(Section 4 of the Land Act)This tenure is the most common formof land holding in Uganda.15Id., Sections 1 and 3 (1).18

Handbook On Land Ownership, Rights, Interests And Acquisition In UgandaA map of Uganda showing the distribution ofthe different land tenure systemsSource: Ministry of Land, Housing and Urban Development19

Handbook On Land Ownership, Rights, Interests And Acquisition In UgandaFor the purpose of subsection (2), the spouse shall in everycase have a right to use the family land and give or withholdhis or her consent to any transaction referred to in section39, which may affect his or her rights.Section (38A of the Land Act)20

Handbook On Land Ownership, Rights, Interests And Acquisition In Uganda4KEYCONSIDERATIONSFOR LANDTRANSACTIONS21

Handbook On Land Ownership, Rights, Interests And Acquisition In Ugandaa.Rights and Duties ofTenants byOccupancy and KibanjaHolders1.Tenants by occupancy have aright to occupy land under the laws ofUganda.2.They have the right to entertransactions with respect to the landthey occupy with the consent of theregistered land owner, which shouldnot be denied on unreason ablegrounds. (Section 34 of the Land Act).3.The law strictly requirestenants by occupancy to give the landowner first option where they wish tosell their interest and vice versa wherea land owner wants to sell the land.This must be on a willing buyer willing seller basis. (Section 35 of the LandAct).4.These rights and dutiesextend to Kibanja holders who mustalso obtain the consent of theregistered owner before selling oftheir Kibanja.16175.They must also be given theright of first option to buy the land ifthe land owner wants to sell the land.166.Where a tenant byoccupancy or Kibanja holder sellstheir interest without giving the landowner first option, he or shecommits an offence and loses theright to occupy the land. (Land(Amendment) Act 2010)7.A person who buys registeredland which has tenants by occupancymust respect and observe their rights.8.He or she must not evictthem except if he or she obtains acourt order of eviction fornon-payment of the annualnominal ground rent. (Section 32A ofthe Land Act as amended in 2010).9.Similarly, any person whobuys registered land in Buganda mustobserve the rights of Kibanja holderson the land.17Marko Matovu & Others v. Mohammed Sseviiri & Others Court of Appeal Civil Appeal No. 7 of 1978 andKampala District Land Board & Another Vs. Venansio Babweyaka and Others Supreme Court Civil AppealNo.2 of 2007.UPTC v Abraham Lutaaya Supreme Court Civil Appeal No. 36 of 1995 cited in Prof. Wavamunno v Sekyanzi HighCourt Land Division Civil Appeal No. 27 of 201022

Handbook On Land Ownership, Rights, Interests And Acquisition In Uganda10.Tenants by occupancy andKibanja holders can also register acaveat at the Registry of Lands wherethey have reason to suspect that theregistered land owner intends toenter a land transaction which willaffect their rights and interests.(Section 139 of the Registration of TitlesAct).b.Right of Spouses toGive Consent forTransactions onFamily Land1.Husbands and wives ofowners of family land are entitled tooccupy this land.5.Where a spouse of a landowner does not agree to sale of theland for example, it will be illegal andunlawful.186.Even if a buyer of familyland is unaware that the land ownerhas a spouse, the sale is unlawful butthe buyer has the right to claim backmoney paid to the land owner.7.A person who suspects thattheir spouse who owns family landintends to sell the land or enter anyother deals on the land, without theirpermission, can register a caveat at theRegistry of Lands. This caveat doesnot expire.2.They have the right to accessto, and live on family land.(Section 38Aof the Land Act).8.This protection applies toonly married couples. Persons wholive together as a couple but are notmarried are not protected.3.Spouses therefore must givetheir consent to all land transactionson family land (Section 39 of the LandAct).9.Therefore, spouses must bein a Christian, Civil, Customary,Islamic or Hindu marriage.4.These transactions include:sale of the land, mortgages or leaseson family land and giving away familyland.1810.Where a married couple hasseparated under the law, they do notbenefit from this protection.Inid Tumwebaze v Mpeirwe Stephen & Anor High Court Civil Suit No. 39 of2010.23

Handbook On Land Ownership, Rights, Interests And Acquisition In Ugandac.Rights ofBeneficiaries toEstates of PersonsWho Die Without a Will1.Where a land owner, tenantby occupancy or Kibanja holder dieswithout a will, his or her interest in theland is inherited by the family.2.The family must havemeetings and appoint anAdministrator who should apply forLetters of Administration to manageand hold the land of the deceased onbehalf of the family members.(Section 26 of the Succession Act)5.This can be done byregistering a beneficiary’s caveat at theRegistry of Lands. This caveat doesnot lapse except with consent of thebeneficiary who filed it or a courtorder.20 (Sections 139 and 144 of the Registration of Titles Act)6.A beneficiary, who is not anAdministrator, can bring a case in thecourts of law to protect his or herinterest in the estate of the deceasedor to ensure that the property of thedeceased is well managed anddistributed.213.Widows or widowers havethe first priority to apply for Lettersof Administration to administer theestates of their deceased spouses forthe benefit of the family.194.Therefore, a beneficiary ofthe estate of the deceased (forinstance children and spouses of thedeceased) has a right to oppose landtransactions entered by theAdministrator if he or she believesthat it affects his or her interests inthe land.1920Best Kemigisa vs Mabel Komuntale (1999) KALR 829.Teja Singh vs Singh &ors (1957) EA 654.24

Handbook On Land Ownership, Rights, Interests And Acquisition In Ugandad.Customary Land1.For customary land ownedby community members, consent ofthe community members is requiredfor any land transaction while for landowned by a family, consent of thespouse and children must beobtained.2.Customary land can also beconverted to freehold land where theowners wish to change it. (Section 9 ofthe Land Act)i)Types of Customary Land1.Customary communal land;where persons or communities shareownership or use of land forcommon purpose. A particular groupof people in a particular area forpurposes like grazing, water source,and firewood collection, wild fruitsand vegetables, fishing, harvestinghoney and white ants, cuttingpapyrus etc, communally owns theland. In most cases, rights to accessthis land areinherited.212.Customary family land;

Handbook On Land Ownership, Rights, Interests And Acquisition In Uganda 4 “Land is not a mere commodity, but an essential element for the realization of many human rights. For many people, land is a source of livelihood, and is central to economic rights. Land is