Land ownership in the West Nile

Land disputes arise frequently in the West Nile region and all too often result in violence.  There are many reasons for these disputes but most are linked to the region's recent unsettled history.

The post-Amin era has been a very trouble one for Uganda and especially in the West Nile region. Between the late 1980s and 2008, Uganda has been involved in a civil war in the north against the Lord’s Resistance Army. The LRA has been accused of carrying out widespread abduction of children to serve as soldiers or sex slaves. It is estimated that the LRA have abducted around 30,000 children and that the civil war has led to the displacement of 1.6 million people from Northern Uganda and the death, mutilation and kidnapping of more than 100,000 people.

During this period, the West Nile region had two rebel groups; the West Nile Bank Front (WNBF) and Uganda National Liberation Front (UNLF II) both of whom operated in and out of DR Congo but which ceased hostilities following a peace deal with the government in 2001.

Peace talks were initiated in Juba in 2008 between the LRA and government of Uganda which temporarily brought relative stability to the Northern region. However, recovery from this conflict has itself brought further conflict at a local level as those returning following displacement have sought to rebuild their lives and resettle the areas that were their earlier homes. This resettlement has lead to a new range of disputes which often result in violence, namely land disputes.

The West Nile is home to many different tribes and each tribe lays claim to land. Over 90 percent of the land in West Nile falls under Uganda's Customary Tenure System. In the main, land owned by way of Customary Tenure is rarely documented and so there is no clear evidence as to ownership. In most cases, ownership has been past from one tribe, clan or family to the next generation by word of mouth. The difficulties of certainty through this oral tradition of land ownership is further compounded by the manner in which plots of land are determined. The descriptions as to the extent of a particular parcel of land invariably rely on the use of land marks, e.g. the course of a river or stream, the line of a road or track, the position of a tree or other feature or structure. The landmarks and features will themselves change over time and so bring a future level of uncertainty as to the extent of the land parcel.

Land held under Customary Tenure can be owned by a particular group; e.g. an individual, family, clan, tribe or community. Where held by a clan, tribe or community the management of the land rests with a group of elders appointed by and so acting on behalf of the group.

The 1998 Land Act defines Customary Tenure as a form of tenure applicable to a specific area of land and applying local customary regulation and management to individual and household ownership, use and occupation and transactions of the land.  It also provides for communal ownership and use of the land and allows for such parcels of land to be subdivided so as to be vested with an individual, family or traditional institution and which can be owned in perpetuity.

The impact of the recent conflict has meant that much of the land in the West Nile was unoccupied for several years as people fled the violence. On their return, many of the features and land marks previously used to demark ownership had been lost. However, the communities were eager to commence rebuilding their lives and so have sought to secure land to cultivate and build homes on. Inevitably people have been attacked to the areas of land that they knew to be the best for cultivation, closest to water sources, etc.

The 1995 Ugandan Constitution and the 1998 Land Act provide the legal framework for determining land disputes. The Land Act also provides a mechanism for owners to register their Customary Tenure, including drawing proper maps of the land parcel. However, few owners have registered their land. This is in part due to the legal cost involved but for most they simply do not understand or appreciate the need to formalise the ownership in this way.

Many of the community are illiterate. They have little or no formal education. For example, poverty may have meant there was no money to pay school fees and in any case, as children, they needed to work to help support the home; the distances and absence of infrastructure in the rural areas make access to schools difficult; the conflict resulted in both the displacement of families and so the disruption of education, and the destruction of schools. This means that for most, they simply do not understand the importance of a land registration document.

The well-know idiom "possession is nine tenth of the law", appears to predominate when determining who owns a particular parcel of land. Rather than resort to the legal remedies under the Land Act, the person seeking to take possession of a disputed parcel of land will simply attempt to occupy the land. It is not unusual for force to be used to gain occupation.