SHEEMA
The Government has distributed 2,800 land titles to residents of Sheema Municipality under the Systematic Land Adjudication and Certification (SLAC) programme, aimed at securing land ownership and reducing land disputes.
The titles were handed over to beneficiaries on Wednesday at the Sheema Municipal Council headquarters during a ceremony presided over by Harriet Ntabazi, the State Minister for Lands and Urban Development.
The programme is being implemented by the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development with support from the World Bank in 16 districts across the country. Beneficiaries receive the titles at no cost.
Titles to boost land security
Speaking during the launch of the second phase of the title distribution, Ntabazi warned beneficiaries against fragmenting their land, urging them to use it productively and preserve it for future generations.
She advised them to invest in productive activities and leave both the land and the proceeds from their investments as assets for their children, instead of dividing the land into small pieces.
The SLAC programme involves the systematic identification, adjudication, surveying and certification of land rights.
During the first phase, the municipality received 2,300 land titles, which were distributed among the four divisions of Kashozi, Sheema Central, Kagango and Kabwohe.
Sheema Municipality Mayor Rukia Nakariisa said the programme would strengthen land tenure security, reduce conflicts and improve household livelihoods.
“These land titles are important to our people. They provide security of tenure, reduce land-related conflicts, promote peace in families and provide an asset that can be used to access investment and improve household livelihoods,” Nakariisa said.
She thanked the Government, the Ministry of Lands and the World Bank for supporting the programme in Sheema Municipality.
Land conflicts
Sam Orikunda, the Sheema Deputy Resident District Commissioner, said his office handles numerous land-related disputes, some of which have resulted in violence and loss of lives.
He said the newly issued titles would help settle ownership disputes by providing documentary evidence of who legally owns a piece of land.
“Now that these people have got land titles, it will help us in solving problems related to land because I normally see people saying, ‘If you have land, there should be evidence that you own it,’ and the proof that shows that you own the land is the land title,” Orikunda said.
Emmanuel Kaganzi, the Commissioner for Physical Planning at the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, urged beneficiaries to keep their titles safely to prevent them from being lost or destroyed.
He said the documents would provide beneficiaries with legal proof of ownership and authority over their land.
Leaders hail programme
Adrine Katusiime Mwebesa, the Sheema District Woman Member of Parliament, thanked Sheema Municipality MP Dickson Kateshumbwa for lobbying for the land titles.
She said leaders were committed to working together to ensure the programme benefits more people across the district.
Kateshumbwa said the programme initially faced resistance because of political propaganda, with some people being discouraged from registering for land titles.
He said the exercise had also exposed cases of overlapping land titles and disputes involving several families.
“The land titles have opened our eyes because during the process, we found out that some titles were overlapping and had a lot of families,” Kateshumbwa said.
He said he had written to the Ministry of Lands and submitted petitions from residents in several villages, including Rubaare, where 45 households were affected, as well as Mahega, Rwitaniro, Nyamirima and Kashozi.
“We urge the ministry to come and conduct public hearings and then cancel the land titles in question,” Kateshumbwa said.
