KAMPALA —A team from the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development (MLHUD) led by the focal minister Judith Nabakooba has met Anglican church leaders to lay strategies for registration of all church land in Uganda.
The meeting held at Namirembe Provincial Secretariat on June 21 with attendance from all the 39 dioceses of the Church of Uganda aimed to train church leaders on land management and protection.
Nabakooba asked church leaders to identify all the land across the country that belongs to the Church of Uganda (COU).
“This will help our team to identify land with legal documents and process documents to title unregistered land,” Ms Nabakooba said.
She also asked the church leaders to get all registered trustees on the land, and update files and records of all consent forms.
“Keep a keen eye on the small pieces of land in communities that belong to the Church of Uganda. There is even land that was abandoned by the church long time ago and it has been encroached,” she said.
The minister revealed that no occupants will be chased from the land but will instead be registered and given certificates of occupancy to allow them to pay nominal ground rent, Busuulu.
She noted that most of the church-donated land has been taken over by relatives of the owner of estates because they do not want to adhere to the commitments made by their great-grandparents.
She however advised that such land cases will be taken to courts of law to be resolved once and for all.
“You must ensure that the church does not lose any piece of land during the boundary opening.”
In instances where church land is occupied by institutions, the ministry will ensure landlord-tenant harmonious relation is restored.
Nabakooba also cautioned church leaders against corruption and asked them to report any evil deeds to her office or the permanent secretary incase they prevail.
Mr Balaam Muheebwa, the acting Provincial Secretary in the Church of Uganda, pledged on behalf of the church to provide all the necessary support that will be needed.
He said church land registration will minimize conflicts between the church and the communities.
“The church still has land that is not surveyed and titled. We therefore appeal to the government for help.”
On March 05, 2024, the Nabakooba met the house of bishops at a retreat conference at Lweza Training and Conference Centre in Wakiso District and asked the men of God to create within themselves a team that will work with the ministry throughout this exercise.
Ms Nabakooba said land registration would shield church land from grabbers and fraudsters.
She noted how she had already briefed her permanent secretary and the technical persons that the call to have Church land formalised was timely.
