News on Land

In Uganda, more women (88 per cent) than men (78 per cent) are primarily engaged in agriculture [UBOS 2020]. Yet, women working in agriculture face more challenges than their male counterparts. 

This is in part due to discriminatory gender norms which are limiting women’s access to productive resources such as land, labour, equipment and economic capital.  Dismantling stereotypes about women’s work within the agricultural sector is, therefore, vital to improve agricultural productivity in Uganda and spur development. 

More than 400 people, mostly from the Alur tribe, who were affected by floods last year at Kalolo Landing Site in Buliisa District, have been asked to vacate land on which they had put temporary shelters.
The stranded locals had pitched camp at Kisiimo Cell in Buliisa Town Council. 

Rhino Fund Uganda (RFU) has finally left the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary in Nakitoma, Nakasongola District.

The organization has been embroiled in a misunderstanding with Capt. Charles Roy, the owner of the land where rhinos are being bred which forced the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) to take over the sanctuary. The UWA says that the move was for the rhinos’ safety.

Livestock farmers in Gomba District have asked Parliament to swiftly intervene and block attempts by National Forestry Authority (NFA) to parcel out the remaining part of two central forest reserves of Kalombe and Nsowe to private investors.
NFA is mandated to manage all central forest reserves in the country.

Kampala (Agenzia Fides) – “The situation is getting worse as residents of entire regions are forcibly evicted from their lands. Forced evictions are a clear indication of violations of people’s rights,” according to a report by the Dennis Hurley Peace Institute (DHPI), a research organization sponsored by the Conference of Southern Bishops African (SACBC), on the acts of land seizure at the expense of the local population on the grounds of the Gulu Parish in Northern Uganda.

19 May 2021 (GLOBAL) — The Land Portal and Open Data Charter are launching the Open Up Guide on Land Governance, the latest addition to a lauded series of practical guides for governments to address key policy changes. This launch comes as part of the Open Gov Week (OGW), an annual call-to-action to transform the way governments serve their citizens. 

Landowners in Kisumu County are breathing a sigh of relief following Governor Anyang’ Nyong’os move, to offer them a 100 per cent waiver, on all outstanding interest and penalties on land rates.

The adverse effects of the Covid-19 outbreak on the real estate sector have occasioned the decision that aims to cushion the property owners from further losses.

The County issued a notice signed by the Finance Executive (CECM), George Okong’o, to that effect. The waiver takes effect from May 17 to June 18, 2021.

Lands Cabinet Secretary, Farida Karoney, has assured Kenyans that the National Land Information Management System cannot be interfered with.

Speaking on Wednesday, the CS while responding to questions from Kenyans said measures have been put in place by experts to ensure Ardhi Sasa is safe and secure.

"Our multi-agency team of cyber security experts has put in place all the requisite protocols to ensure Ardhisasa is tamper-proof," Karoney said.

A court in northern Vietnam’s Hoa Binh province on Wednesday sentenced land-rights activist Can Thi Theu and her son Trinh Ba Tu to eight years in prison each for posting online articles and livestream videos criticizing the government for its handling of a deadly land-rights clash last year.

The eight-year terms for the pair, who worked to raise awareness of the socially and politically explosive issue of land grabs in the country of 95 million people, will be followed by three years each on probation, the court’s judgment said.

Current estimates of land-use change may be capturing only one-quarter of its true extent across the world, new research shows.

Medici Land Governance (MLG) has partnered with the Government of Rwanda to pilot a project that aims to make land transfers a paperless process. For the pilot, MLG has built a land transaction platform on blockchain called Ubutaka, which will be integrated with Rwanda’s existing land registry infrastructure.

The government has reclaimed the Naguru-Nakawa land after 10 years.
The land had been given to Opec Prime Properties, an investor, to construct a satellite city.
Dr Chris Baryomunsi, the State minister for Housing and Urban Development, said the land has been earmarked for the construction of a specialised medical centre.