Customary land in Uganda

Customary land in Uganda  : In Uganda, customary land refers to land that is owned based on the norms and traditions of a given society or community in Uganda. From one region to another, the system varies as some communities allocate individual plots to their members with well-known and defined boundaries marked by trees, ridges and trenches. For the pastoralist tribes such as the Karamojong, land is managed on a communal basis.

One can own land individually under customary tenure as long as it has been handed down from generation to generation using a particular society’s customs.

In Section 27 of the Land Act in 2015, the government of Uganda introduced Certificates of

Customary Ownership (CCOs) for owners of customary land.

 A customary landowner can apply for a Certificate Customary Ownership of the land, this is the most common form of land holding in Uganda.

Individual Customary Land

In this case, the land is owned by an individual as it is allocated to them, to use or own permanently or inherited the land or purchased customary land as an individual. An individual has a right to allocate potions of the land to the next generation.

Under the Uganda Constitution and the Land Act, customary land is recognized on a par with

freehold and Mailo. Under customary type of Land, the owners of the land have the rights to use the land but do not have land title.

Access to Customary Land

The land is generally administered by different types of customary land tenure institutions in which kinship is important. Land is often administered by extended family linkages.

For this reason, land is often subject to restrictions on transfers outside the family and the clan. However, this practice is usually not enough to guarantee tenure security to Ugandans.

According to the Land (Amendment) Act 2010 was passed as a way to address widespread

evictions related to land grabbing of customary and Mailo land thus boasting the security of customary land in Uganda.

About 70% of Uganda’s land is administered as customary land leaving only a smaller portion of land with owners possessing actual land titles. In 1995, Uganda created a legal framework for the registration of the prevailing customary land tenure.

Legislation and policies have since been put in place to promote official land titles and

modernising land law for customary ownership and land governance.

In 1998, a Land Act introduced a land reform in Uganda aiming at enhancing tenure security by recognizing the existing rights to land. The Act also aims at bringing land on to the market. However, the reform’s implementation has been slow and partial so far.

In 2015, the government of Uganda introduced Certificate of Customary Ownership (CCOs) for the owners of customary land.

To get a proof of ownership of the land as a way of protecting his or her claim, a customary land owner can apply for a CCO as proof of ownership of the land.

Buying Customary Land in Uganda

If you are looking to purchase land in any part of Uganda, you have to purchase it through

customary tenure. You have to purchase the land through customary tenure under the native

law and custom of the people where the land is located, basing on their customs.

Customary land purchase is legally accepted.

The duties of the purchaser or seller are recognized in addition to levies of the villagers, tribe

and ethnic group where the land is situated. The transaction or purchase is done in broad daylight before selected and concerned persons.

The buyer is expected to invite his people and the chairman or any authority to witness such a transaction so the land transaction can be documented.

Documentation of the Land Transaction in Uganda

1. Have an agreement for any transaction on land in writing – buying, selling, donating or bequeathing
2. Make sure the right persons in law that is an adult who hold interest in that land sign the agreement
3. Ensure that you have copies of the original agreement and copies of National identifications of Sellers
4. Buyers and Sellers must sign on all pages of the agreement
5. In case the buyer or the seller is illiterate, the person writing the agreement for or on behalf of the illiterate must indicate his or her full name and address as the writer of that document otherwise he or she commits an offence. Courts have strictly observed the same.

Contents of a Good Land Agreement in Uganda

A Good Land Agreement in Uganda must have the following contents as listed by  www.moorlandconsults.com

• Names and signature of parties to the land – the buyer and the seller have to append their signature and names to the agreement.
•  All parties must sign on each page
• Names and signature of the witnesses – the persons who can witness the transaction and can testify to the sale being concluded and append their signatures on the agreement.
• Witnesses must witness on each page.
• Land Location – where the land is located, the village, parish, division sub – country, county and district where applicable.
• Land Size – stated in both words and figures
• Description of the land – this entails what is on the land for example houses, trees, crops among other and state whether they form part of the land being sold
• Date of Sale
• Boundaries and neighbours – to the land being sold
• State the nature or system under which the land is held – whether customary,freehold or Mailo tenure
• State the amount of the sale in figures and words or any other means under which the land is being transacted
• Certificate of translation – where either or both of the parties are illiterate
• If the land is a gift, indicate it