Mailo Land In Uganda
Mailo Land In Uganda : Mailo land tenure is a system of owning land in which there is an owner of the land referred to as a landlord and the occupants of the land are recognized as tenants, this type of land tenure is more common in the Central Region of Uganda and in the Buganda Kingdom.
This land tenure is registered and owned in eternity with its holder having a land title for it, the basis of this land tenure originates from the allocation of land pursuant to the 1900 Buganda Agreement subject to legislative qualifications. This system confers freeholds granted by the colonial government in exchange for political cooperation under the 1900 Buganda Agreement.
The 1900 agreement was signed between the regents of Buganda, acting on behalf of young Sir Daudi Chwa and Sir Harry Johnson on behalf of the Queen of England, the agreement divided the 19,600 square miles that form Buganda Kingdom among different entities and individuals.
These included the Kabaka (King), regents, chiefs, central government, key offices and other
individuals who were found fit.
Throughout history, Men would go for wars to defend their nation and their heroic reward by the King who was the commander – in – chief was in terms of land. In Buganda customs, people belong to specific clans and would have ancestries (Obutaka), therefore another known land was that of Obutaka which would be allocated by the Kabaka to clan heads in trust of his clan.
Mailo Land Tenure recognizes occupancy by tenants locally known as Kibanja Holders, who
relationship with their overloads or land lords governed and guided by the provisions of the Land Act.
Mailo Land is registered under the Registration of Titles Act, therefore all transactions must be entered in a register guaranteed by the state. Under the Mailo land tenure, a holder of a mailo land title has absolute ownership of that land.
Mailo Land Tenure system has features of freehold system, about 9000 square miles are
confined to Buganda – Central Uganda and western Uganda – Bunyoro.
The British Colonialists allocated mile – square blocks of land to Baganda notable in exchange for political cooperation, under Mailo Land Tenure there are no more new titles issued before 1928.
What is being done today is a mere further subdivision and that of transfer of ownership, both the applicant and the transferring land owner fill.
Application forms with the zonal office of the ministry of lands in their area, they then wait for the zonal office to accomplish the rest of the entire process.
Mailo Land Tenure in Uganda is mainly in Buganda, part of the Ankole, Tooro sub-regions and
Bunyoro areas. At the present there are over 250,000 of Mailo Land title holders in Uganda courtesy of a majority having bought or inherited the land.
Categories of Mailo Land
There are two categories of Mailo Land, that are official Mailo and Private Land.
- Official Mailo
The Official Mailo refers to land owned by the Kabaka – Buganda King, Katikkiro Buganda
Prime Minister, Omulamuzi – Buganda Chief Justice and Ssaza – Chief. The official Mailo benefits specific offices such as Kabaka’s office, Katikkiro, Ssaza and Gombolola Chiefs and therefore not supposed to be sold. The Kabaka was given 350 square miles which is currently administered by the Buganda Land Board
- Private Mailo
Private Mailo refers to land owned privately by individuals, this type of Mailo land is owned by individuals such as Kabaka as an individual, royals, individual chiefs and some notables.
There were 1,000 people who were given 8,000 square miles.
Note: There were 9,000 square miles comprising of lanes, rivers and hills left untouched and
vested in the Crown of England hence the name, Crown Land.
At the independence of Uganda in 1962, the colonial government instituted a statutory body called Buganda Land Board where this land was vested.
When Milton Obote the then president of Uganda abolished kingdoms in Uganda, the Uganda Land Commission was created and it is where this land was administered. Ugandans interested in this land can obtain Freehold titles.
Private Mailo Land Private owners have perpetual ownership and are free to sell or pass on their rights to their heirs, many private Mailo holders have since 1900 sold off their holdings to such an extent that the Ministry of Land puts the number of owners to have risen to more than 200,000 today.
From the original 1,000 allocates courtesy of so many having inherited or bought parts of what was previously one piece of land, thereby causing various subdivisions.
Note: there are no new titles issued under Mailo tenure because all the titles were issued prior to 1928.
What is currently done is only further subdivision of the existing titles as well as changing the
names on the titles in cases where ownership is being transferred.
Acquiring a Mailo Land Tenure Title
The process of acquiring a certificate of Mailo land title is done legally and as already noted there are no new titles being offered but instead old titles are either being subdivided or transferred into the names of new owners.
In order to have a land – title subdivided or transferred, one must get the plot and the block
number of that particular land and present it to the Registry of Titles who will ratify that it is
registered.
The Buyer
A buyer of a particular Mailo Land must pick and fill applications form from the Land
Commission and returns it to the commission. When filling forms, one must indicate clearly that it is either sub-division or transfer.
The Seller
The owner from whom the land is being bought fills in a transfer form together with consent
forms.
Land Surveying
Land surveying the land in question is done and the ministry completes the course of filing and issuing a mutation form.
Getting the Land Title
When the process is done, the ministry offers you your title that is either segmented off a current one or an old title being fully changed into the new owner names.
Eligibility for the Mailo Land Title Status
Only Citizens of Uganda are eligible for the Mailo land tenure system, the rest of the property owners in Uganda should be under the Leasehold Land Tenure System.
The following institutions and people can offer a lease to a non – Ugandan to own land in Uganda
- An individual Mailo land owner can offer a lease to a foreigner
- A local authority or government body can offer lease to a foreigner
- Buganda Land Board which is a body in charge of Kabaka Land in Buganda can offer lease to a foreigner or a Ugandan for a given period of time usually 49 years.
- A company owned by foreigners can only own Mailo land in Uganda if the firm is registered with a Ugandan having a majority shares in it such as 51% shares and the foreigners holding 495 shares in that company. These shares should be non-transferable.
