Written By | Peter Luzinda
Ssegawa Isaac, the chief executive officer of Tzaka Consultants Limited,
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Kampala
The government’s three-month suspension of the issuance of special certificates of title has received support from sections of the public, although concerns remain that genuine landowners could face difficulties accessing credit and completing urgent transactions.
The suspension was introduced to address fraud and abuse in the process of replacing lost or missing land titles, with the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development seeking to strengthen verification procedures.
Ssegawa Isaac, the chief executive officer of Tzaka Consultants Limited, supports the temporary halt, saying it could help close loopholes exploited by fraudsters.
“Stopping the routine issuance of special titles is good because it reduces scams,” Mr Ssegawa said.
However, he cautioned that the measure could also create difficulties for genuine landowners who urgently need documentation for transactions such as securing bank loans or travelling abroad.
He said the existing verification process, if properly followed, could help distinguish genuine applications from fraudulent ones without unnecessarily denying legitimate owners access to their land documents.
According to Mr Ssegawa, an applicant seeking a special certificate is required to provide supporting documentation, including letters from the Local Council 1, a lawyer and the police.
The registrar then verifies the information submitted by the applicant against records held by the land registry. The application is also advertised in newspapers for at least two weeks to give anyone with a competing claim an opportunity to raise an objection.
Mr Ssegawa acknowledged that the newspaper advertising requirement can be costly for some applicants but said it remains an important safeguard where an original certificate has been lost.
“I know some people do not have money for newspaper advertisements, but if your land title gets lost, you still have to go through this process so that ownership can be properly verified and a special title issued,” he said.
The debate comes amid growing concerns over fraudulent land transactions, including cases in which individuals allegedly seek replacement titles while the original certificates are still in the possession of banks, money lenders, relatives or lawyers.
The Ministry suspended the routine issuance of special certificates in August following complaints about abuse of the process. Lands Minister Judith Nabakooba said the review was intended to strengthen safeguards and introduce tougher requirements before replacement titles are issued.
The suspension is expected to last three months, during which the ministry is reviewing procedures used to verify claims involving lost or missing certificates of title.
While the move has been welcomed as an opportunity to address fraud, landowners and professionals in the sector say the government must ensure that the review does not leave genuine applicants without a practical avenue for replacing legitimately lost documents.
The Lands Committee of Parliament is also examining the matter as the government considers ways to improve the system.
For Mr Ssegawa, the challenge is to ensure that measures designed to stop fraud do not inadvertently punish legitimate landowners.
He argues that the review should therefore focus on strengthening verification rather than restricting access to special certificates for people who can prove ownership.
