Kole widow wins land grabbing case against brother-in-law

Local leaders in Aboke Town Council, Kole District, cannot hide their excitement after a 60-year-old widow regained her land after one year of a protracted court battle.

Ms Lillian Miriam Akao had been embroiled in a dispute with her brother-in-law over a parcel of land measuring one acre since 2023. The land in question is located in Barigweri Cell, Eastern Ward “A” in Aboke Town Council.

The mother of seven, four girls and three boys, narrated that her trouble started when her brother-in-law started dividing half of the two-acre piece of land her late husband, Alex Omara, left behind. Omara died in 2004 after a long illness.

After facing several threats over the land, Ms Akao reported the matter to police at Kole Central Police Station in July 2023. The police referred her to Redeem International, an organisation which partners with local law enforcement authorities to protect widows and orphans from violent abuse and exploitation.

“When my brother-in-law learnt that I reported the matter to local authorities, he threatened to deal with me and in August 2023, I fled to Obong Village, Iceme Sub-county in Oyam District where I lived for one week,” she said.

“My brother-in-law went ahead and divided the land by putting an illegal boundary on it.”

Mr Francis Ocira, team leader for Redeem International at Lira Field Office, said their organisation heard about this case through the police.

At this point, his team went on ground and interviewed the widow, neighbours and local leaders to ascertain whether the land in question belonged to her.

“In January this year, that is when our investigation was complete and we took over the case. We dragged along because the key perpetrator here is a soldier and he doesn’t stay here. So, we were looking for him and we could not get him until we had some engagement with the State,” Mr Ocira told Monitor on September 28.

It was then decided that the associates – those who were with the soldier as they were doing the illegal boundary demarcation – should be arrested and charged with criminal trespass.

Indeed, police arrested three people around May 2024 and the suspects were arraigned in court, charged and remanded to prison.

Mr Ocira said when the hearing began around July; the accused persons approached the clan leaders of Akuti Okutu Bilo Clan that they wanted to plead guilty before court. They also indicated that they would return back the widow’s land and also compensate her.

“So, when they approached their clan leaders, they went to court, engaged our lawyers, they were presented before court where they pleaded guilty and the land was given back to the widow and they paid the fines,” said the team leader for Redeem International at Lira Field Office.

“We didn’t get the soldier but when the case was coming to a conclusion, he went to the clan head and said I have done wrong, I consent to giving back the land and he committed to paying the fine but he did not go to court.”

Ms Akao said since then she has been living in peace and harmony with her brother-in-law.

Mr Patrick Ojok, a community leader of Akuti Okutu Bilo Clan, said: “For the last three years, this is the third case of land dispute involving a widow I have handled. This particular case was difficult to settle because the other party was a soldier.”

Mr Ojok said under customary land, a person who has been utilising land remains its rightful owner.

Mr Moses Ogwal, Aboke Town Council LC3 chairperson, said: “At least now we can celebrate that the widow who has been ignored, the widow whose land had been grabbed, the land has been taken back to her.”

Mr Ogwal said for a woman or family living in poverty, a house and a small piece of land provide a crucial source of shelter, food and income.

“Widows across northern Uganda always have a lot of challenges when their husbands die and leave them with some children. When there is a conflict over land involving the widows, clan leaders always favour land grabbers because those people are rich,” he said.

“Whenever there is any land-related dispute involving any widow, we have always advised them to come to our office so that we at least help them. We always invite the person who wants to grab the land and the widow to our office for a dialogue and when that fails we involve other partners like Redeem International to support them.”

In the Lango Sub-region, widows and orphans are among the most vulnerable to property grabbing. Following the death of a male head of household, it is common for relatives, community members, authority figures and other opportunists to plunder the property (including the home and its surrounding gardens) that belonged to the deceased or to the couple jointly. 

“Since our inception in the sub-region here in November 2023, we have over 20 cases already in court. So, that tells you that it is very rampant here,” Mr Ocira said.

“So far, with the support of law enforcement agents, we have arrested over 30 people who are targeting land belonging to the widows.”

Mr Ocira said the major issue is cultural belief.

“They believe that a widow doesn’t have any belonging upon the death of her husband. When the man dies, they don’t own anything,” he explained.

“So, the cultural belief is playing a lot of influence in such cases. Most of the cases you find are the brothers-in-law or the immediate neighbour.”

[email protected]