Legal Realities Versus Culture: A Perspective On Land Acquisition In West Moyo District In Uganda

ABSTRACT:

Land is the most essential pillar of human existence and national development, according to the Government of Uganda (Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, 2011: 2). It is a source of identity and cultural heritage. With 87 percent living in rural areas, of which 34 percent lives in poverty, land in general and access to land in specific is a crucial issue in Uganda (FAO, 2010.) Indeed there is an upsurge in large scale land acquisition including a rush for land that formerly was of no interest to any investment. But there is limited information over the nature, the scale and location of such deals and it is difficult to report with accuracy, the nature and the scale of deals which take place. In most cases land grabbing goes unnoticed; there is underreporting of land deals and the perpetuators of land deals do it either indirectly through others or in a manner that may not depict the deal as land grabbing. In Uganda, there has been a vehement denial by government that land grabbing phenomenon does exist. There is limited information on land grabbing in Uganda. What may pass as genuine land acquisition may actually turn out to be land grabbing thus the invisibility or land grabbing. Lack or information complicates assessing their impact on development. This research is to present some findings . The research is guided by the following objectives; a) to identify strategic and practical solutions that can transform the procedural acquisition or land in Moyo district. b) To identify the existing forms and nature of land acquisition in the district. c) To find out if it is a question of choice of which should have supremacy over the other. d) How do we make the two legal regimes, work together or compliment each other. e) To address the clash between statutory system and customary tenure land system for sale or communally owned land. To achieve these objectives the researcher wi II use the methodology. The researcher also intends to use a descriptive case study approach and he or she will focus on West Moyo district in Uganda for data collection.

 TABLE OF CONTENTS 

DECLARATION .............................................................................................................................. i 

APPROVAL ................................................................................................................................... ii 

DEDICATION ............................................................................................................................... iii 

ACKNOWLEDGMENT ................................................................................................................ iv 

TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................................ v 

LIST OF ACRONYMS ............................................................................................................ viii 

TABLE OF STATUTES ................................................................................................................ ix 

ABSTRACT: ................................................................................................................................... x 

CHAPTER ONE ............................................................................................................................ l 

1.0 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... I 

1.1 Background: ............................................................................................................................... I 

1.2 Statement of the problem........................................................................................................... 4 

1.3 Hypothesis ................................................................................................................................. 5 

1 .4 Objectives .................................................................................................................................. 5 

1.5. Research question ..................................................................................................................... 5 

1.6 The scope of the study ............................................................................................................... 6 

1.7 Significance of the study ........................................................................................................... 6 

1.8 Methodology: ............................................................................................................................. 7 

1.8.1 Sampling ................................................................................................................................. ? 

1.8.2. Data collection Methods ........................................................................................................ 7 

CHAPTER TVO ........................................................................................................................... 8 

LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................................. 8 

2.1. Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 8 

2.2. Tenure Systems ......................................................................................................................... 9 

2.2.1 Tenure systems in the world ................................................................................................. I 0 

2.2.2 Tenure systems Africa .......................................................................................................... 10 

2.2.3 Tenure systems in Uganda .................................................................................................... 15 

2.3 Forms and Nature of Land Acquisition ................................................................................... 17 

2.3.1 Globally ................................................................................................................................ 17 

2.3.2 Forms and Nature of Land Acquisition in Uganda ............................................................... 19 

2.4 Conflict between ways of transacting land in statutory system and in communally owned land 

2.4.1 Regionally ............................................................................................................................. 22 

2.4.2. In Uganda ............................................................................................................................ 25 

2.5 How can the two regimes compliment each other. .................................................................. 27 

2.5.1 Regionally ............................................................................................................................. 27 

2.5.2 In Uganda ............................................................................................................................. 28 

2.6 How to transform procedure of Land Acquisition? ................................................................. 30 

2.7. Gap identified from existing literature ................................................................................... 31 

CHAPTER THREE ..................................................................................................................... 35 

3.0 Legal and institutional framework on land acquisition and ownership ..................................... 35 

3.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 35 

3.2 Legal Framework, .................................................................................................................. 35 

3.2.1 International Legal Framework ............................................................................................ 35 

3.2.1.1 Convention of Indigenous and Tribal pcoplcs ................................................................... 36 

3.2.1.2 Convention on the Elimination or all forms or Discrimination Against Women (CEDA W) 

3.2.1.3 The International Bill or Human rights ............................................................................. 37 

3.3. Regional Legal Frameworks ................................................................................................... 38 

3.3.1. African Charter on Human and Peoples· Rights (Banjul Charter) ...................................... 38 

3.4 National legal Frameworks ...................................................................................................... 40 

3.4.1 Constitution of the Republic 01· Uganda 1995 ..................................................................... .40 

3.4.2. The 1998 Land Act Cap.227 as Amended .......................................................................... .41 

3.4.3 Land Acquisition Act ( 1965 ) ............................................................................................... .42 

3.4.4 The Judicature Act Cap 13 .................................................................................................. .43 

3.5. Institutional Frameworks ........................................................................................................ 43 

3.5.1 Uganda Land Commission .................................................................................................. --1-3 

3.5.2 Land Board .......................................................................................................................... .43 

3.5.3 The District Land Office ....................................................................................................... 44 

CHAPTER FOUR ...................................................................................................................... .47 

4.0 Presentation and Discussion of the Research Findings .......................................................... .47 

4. l Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 47 

4. l. l Current legal situation .......................................................................................................... 47 

4.1.2 Transparency of statutory land governance System in Moyo District ................................ .49 

4. l .2. l Weak Land Governance .................................................................................................... 50 

4.1.3 Information Access and Land Records ................................................................................. 51 

4.2 Land Acquisitions: Power and Influence of Custom at Play ................................................... 52 

CHAPTER FIVE ......................................................................................................................... 54 

5.0 Summary .................................................................................................................................. 54 

5.1 Recommendations ................................................................................................................... 54 

5.2. Conclusions ............................................................................................................................ 57 

REFERENCES: ............................................................................................................................. 58