By Sadique Bamwita
KAMPALA
The Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, has issued new guidelines to Resident District and City Commissioners, which must be clearly adhered to during eviction, inspection of land transactions, sub-division and transfer of land.
In her Circular, the Minister for lands, Judith Nabakooba, says Article 237 (1) of the 1995 Constitution, vests all land in the Citizens of Uganda and guarantees tenure security of all lawful and bonafide occupants on the both registered and non-registered land (Article 237 (5).
She adds that where an occupant does not qualify as a bonafide or lawful occupant on the land, Section 30 of the Land Act Cap 236 provided for appointment of a mediator to assist such a person in order to ensure his or her tenure security on registered land.
The guidelines guide Judicial officers, Litigants, bailiffs, police officers, lawyers and other stakeholders while handling evictions and demolitions that are sanctioned by court (Lawful evictions).
The Guidelines also lay down the principles, requirement of notice, application for a warrant of eviction or demolition details, description of the suit land or the subject property, mode of eviction or demolition, disclosure of developments on the land, number of persons to be affected and filing of return in court by the person who enforced the eviction or demolition order.
Minister Nabakooba notes that the 2022 Presidential Directive on evictions requires that no evictions shall be allowed to take place in a district without the involvement of District Security Committee in consultation with the Minister of Lands
She, however says that despite these measures in place, her Ministry has observed with concern a proliferation in illegal evictions that are mainly attributable to suspicious land transactions, overzealous Administrators/ executors of estates, sub divisions on land, transfers of registered land with tenants to third parties without giving the first right to purchase to sitting tenants, among others.
She asserts that these grossly affect tenure security enshrined in the Constitution and inevitably causing food insecurity, destruction of property and ultimate loss of life in some cases.
Minister Nabakooba emphasized that all evictions, demolitions and sale of land by court order should be validly sanctioned by courts of competent jurisdiction.
“Section 89 (1) (e) of the Land Act criminalizes the eviction of tenants on land without a valid court order,” Nabakooba warned perpetrators.
SCOPE OF THE CIRCULAR
The circular extends to all Court sanctioned evictions, demolitions and orders of sale of immovable property and non- court sanctioned evictions.
CATEGORIES OF EVICTIONS
According to Nabakooba, Court Sanctioned Evictions are regulated under the Practice Direction No 1of 2007 and the Constitutional (Land Eviction) (Practice) Direction 2021, which provide for procedures through which such court sanctioned evictions should be conducted
On this note, Minister Nabakooba says the procedure requires that:
Every eviction or demolition shall be preceded by a valid court order specifying the properties in issue and properly identifying the persons implementing it.
Police or local authorities of the area shall be notified and be present during the implementation.
There shall be notice of eviction or demolition issued out to persons to be affected of not less than ninety (90) days and not more than one hundred twenty (120) days prior to eviction or demolition.
Every eviction or demolition shall be carried out in a manner that respects and upholds Human rights and dignity.
Provision of storage facilities for eviction and demolition properties shall be emphasized.
Eviction or demolition shall only be carried out between 8:00am to 6:00pm and no eviction or demolition shall be carried out during weekends or public holidays.
In addition, such orders shall be cleared by the District Security Committee in close consultation with the Ministry of Lands.
Concerning Non-Court Sanctioned Evictions/Illegal Evictions which are as a result of suspicious land transactions, sub divisions on land, transfers of registered land with tenants and evictions by Administrators, Executors and beneficiaries of estates. For emphasis, Minister Nabakooba says the current legal framework prohibits any eviction that is not sanctioned by court, arguing that the rights of sitting tenants should be determined by court before any purported eviction.
To address this mischief, Nabakooba says:
All applications for sub-divisions shall attach a copy of an up to date orthophoto supported by a duly registered Statutory Declaration in proof of the fact that the land has no tenants or the tenants thereon were afforded an opportunity to purchase six (6) months prior to the application or that the application is duly consented to by them.
The Land Officer shall analyse the submitted Job Record Jacket (JRJ) file and the Statutory Declaration in support to access compliance and may in case of any doubt, inspect the land in issue, and submit a report to Commissioner Land Inspectorate and Reform for further management.
Copy of the inspection report, up to date orthophoto and a statutory declaration in support of the application shall be uploaded on the National Land Information System for future reference.
Regarding transfer of tenanted land, Minister Nabakooba says Section 36 (3) of the Land Act Cap 236 requires the registered land owner to give the first option of purchase to the sitting tenant(s). He, however noted that often times, this statutory requirement is ignored resulting into rampant illegal evictions.
She revealed that to redress this mischief the following must be done;
Where the acreage exceeds fifty (50) decimals of an acre in the central region or one (1) acre in other regions, the vendor or purchaser of the land shall submit a copy of a duly registered statutory declaration verifying the number of tenants on the land, the extent of developments thereon, proof of offer of opportunity to purchase to the sitting tenants six (6) months prior to the application, voluntary consent (if any) to the subdivision and an up to date orthophoto of the land to the Land Officer at the respective Ministry Zonal Office.
The Land Officer shall assess the compliance of the transaction and determine whether an inspection should be undertaken where upon a report shall be submitted to Commissioner Land Inspectorate and Reform for further management.
In the event that such compensation was not made by the vendor, the purchaser SHALL assume the liability of compensating any such sitting tenants on the land.
Where the eviction relates to non-payment of nominal ground rent, it is a settled principle that court should approve such evictions in which case guidance in paragraph two (2) above shall apply.
Copy of the inspection report, registered statutory declaration, an up to date orthophoto and shall be uploaded on the National Land Information System.
Evictions by Heirs, Administrators, Executors and Beneficiaries of Estates
– There are instances of beneficial owners, Executors or Administrators of estates evicting sitting tenants from inherited properties. Such evictions are always oblivious of the long established relationship between the deceased and the sitting tenants on the land.
To redress this mischief;
The beneficial owner(s), Heir(s), Executor(s) or Administrator (s) of an estate are statutorily required to acknowledge the subsisting interests (legal or equitable) of the sitting tenants in the estate in issue.
Should misunderstanding emerge between the two, the heir, executor or administrator should engage the sitting tenants on the land with the view of amicably regularizing their relationship/ interests on the land in issue or agreeing to the sharing formula. This may be supported by a mediator.
On deployment of Private Security Guards on Contested Land, Minister says private security companies should desist from deploying their officers /staff on contested/disputed land. In this regard, Ministry of Internal Affairs shall come up with stringent guidelines to regulate the deployment and conduct of private security companies on such lands.
In conclusion, Minister Nabakooba has directed the authorities to strictly comply with the above mentioned guidelines while dealing with court sanctioned evictions and non-court sanctioned (illegal) evictions to curb the rampant land evictions and property demolitions that affect citizens tenure security.
Land Activist Welcomes the Guidelines
The Executive Director, Action For Liberty and Economic Development (ALED), John Socrates Mugabi believes that latest land administration reforms provide important recognition of the concerns that Obwananyini Kutaka (land ownership), has been advocating for through it’s advocacy for women’s land and property rights.
He added that for the last two years, Obwananyini Kutaka has worked with women, community paralegals, local leaders and other stakeholders to increase awareness of land rights, promote documentation and help vulnerable occupants defend their property interests.
“The new administrative guidelines strengthen several of the principles at the heart of our advocacy,” Mugabi said.
Mugabi says the reforms reinforce protection against unlawful evictions, require greater scrutiny of land sub-divisions and transfers, and strengthen safeguards for sitting tenants.
In particular, Mugabi notes that the requirement for evidence that sitting tenants were given an opportunity to purchase land before certain transactions create an important procedural protection for people who may otherwise be displaced without meaningful participation.
Mugabi is optimistic that the requirement for statutory declarations, updated orthophotos, inspection reports and documentation on the National Land Information System also reinforces the importance of evidence and transparency in land administration.
Finally, Mugabi says for women, widows and other vulnerable occupants, these measures are particularly significant saying that the guidelines recognize changes in ownership, sub-division or inheritance adding that they should not automatically erase the interests of people already occupying or depending on the land.
