The Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development is preparing to issue freehold land titles to more than 100,000 bibanja holders in Kagadi District under a government programme intended to secure the land rights of lawful occupants.
Uganda Land Commission commissioner John Kasenge said more than 2,000 freehold titles would be issued under a programme expected to cost the Government Shs543 billion in compensation for absentee landlords in Greater Kibaale.
“We have started with the sensitisation of beneficiaries in Greater Kibaale. This will be followed by land demarcation by surveyors and the registration of beneficiaries,” Kasenge said.
Kasenge made the remarks during a meeting with residents of Kyomukama, Kitegwa and Kihayura parishes in Kagadi Sub-county on July 14, 2026.
The meeting, held at Kyomukama Trading Centre, was convened to address a dispute involving a two-square-mile piece of land covering the three parishes.
Kasenge, who reportedly represented Uganda Land Commission chairperson Prof Pen Mogi Nyeko, said compensation for the affected landlords would be handled through the Land Fund.
He said an adjudication committee comprising village leaders and residents would be established to verify the identities and claims of intended beneficiaries.
The commissioner also told residents that titles would not be issued for land classified as wetlands.
Principal lands officer Denis Musinguzi said more than 5,000 land titles had already been issued to bibanja holders in Rwampara, Bunyangabu, Nakaseke, Mubende, Kakumiro and Kibaale districts.
Kagadi Resident District Commissioner Carolyn Nanshemeza urged residents to cooperate with survey teams and warned officials against corruption during the exercise.
“We do not want to hear any issues of corruption in the surveying. I am tired of corrupt tendencies by officials in the district,” Nanshemeza said.
Kagadi Woman MP Margaret Naziwa and Buyaga East MP Stephen Twesige welcomed the programme, saying it would strengthen residents’ security of tenure.
Julius Byaruhanga, a resident of Kitegwa, said obtaining a land title would enable residents to use their property as security when seeking loans from financial institutions.
Vincent Kisembo, a boda boda rider, said some absentee landlords had previously threatened to evict occupants before the Government intervened.
