Buganda Land Board has today officially launched its ‘Weetuukire’ campaign aimed at registering all Title-holders on Kabaka’s land in a bid to regularize their tenancy.
Buganda Land BoardManaging Director, Mr. Kyewalabye Male said,”‘Weetuukire’ is a campaign that is calling upon all persons currently in possession of land titles on Kabaka’s land, which were formerly issued by Uganda Land Commission and District Land Boards to regularize their tenancy with Buganda Land Board.”
Mr. Kyewalabye further explained that Kabaka’s land refers to all that land vested in the Kabaka of Buganda by virtue of his office and held in custody for the people of Buganda. Kabaka’s land includes:
· The Kings official estate ‘Olusuku lwa Ssabasajja’ measuring 350 square miles covering the counties of Kyadondo, Busiiro, Kyagwe, including such areas as Munyonyo and Makindye and Buziga.
· It also covers all land that was managed and controlled by the Buganda Land Board as a creature of the 1962 constitution of Uganda, which entails urban and peri-urban areas of municipalities and towns in Buganda kingdom
· It also includes the Sazza and Gomboloola estates measuring 8 square miles and 49 acres respectively found in all districts of Buganda covering some parts of Mukono, Wakiso and Kampala and all rural/up country districts.
Mr. Kyewalabye also clarified that the Central Government under the Obote-I Republican constitution of 1967 confiscated Buganda Kingdom assets, of which land was the largest. The 1967 constitution also created the Uganda Land Commission which was given the mandate to manage all public land, of which the confiscated Buganda Kingdom land was among. This was further escalated by the 1975 Land Decree which declared all land to be public land and vested the same in the State to be held in trust for the people of Uganda and to be administered by the Uganda Land Commission. Further still, in 1998 District Land Boards were created and given further mandate to manage land within their respective districts.
However, in 1993, the Government of Uganda through the Traditional Rulers Restitution of Assets and Properties Act Cap 247 entered various legally binding agreements with Buganda Kingdom culminating into a memorandum of understanding between themselves in 2013 under which various land titles and properties were officially handed back to Kabaka’s government following added Mr Kyewalabye.
Mr Kyewalabye said, “Buganda Land Board is therefore not chasing anyone off Kabaka’s land. We are simply acting within our mandate and calling upon all tenants on Kabaka’s land that received land titles issued by Uganda Land Commission and District Land Boards to come and regularize their land titles with Buganda Kingdom, this is both free hold and Lease titles.”
He further added that it is crucial that all tenants on Kabaka’s land have their Land titles validated because Buganda Land Board is now the controlling authority for all of Kabaka’s land. “Once Buganda Land Board has acknowledged and authenticated one’s tenancy, that person will enjoy security of tenure guaranteed by the true owner of the land.”
He also added that financial institutions and Commercial Banks are now accepting only those land titles on Kabaka’s land that have been validated by Buganda Land Board. Furthermore, all transactions to include the sale, exchange or donation of land with titles on Kabaka’s land are now rendered invalid by law, if not consented to by Buganda Land Board.
Mr. Kyewalabye concluded by noting that much as the ‘Weetuukire’ campaign is yet another initiative by Buganda Land Board to ensure that all tenants on Kabaka’s land enjoy peaceful and economically sustainable use of the land they occupy.
