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Mengo tells Bibanja owners to acquire certificates
Mr simon Kabogoza, the Chief Executive Officer of Buganda Land Board addressing residents in Masulita on September 3, 2024. Photo/Shabibah Nakirigya
What you need to know:
- Before the 1900 agreement between the British and Buganda kingdom, land in Buganda belonged to everyone within Buganda but governed by specific traditional office holders.
Buganda Land Board (BLB) has appealed to bona fide occupants (Bibanja owners) across the kingdom to process certified land documents affirming their ownership and stay on the land.
Speaking to residents of Masulita- Wakiso District on September 3, Mr Simon Kabogoza Muwanga, the BLB Chief Executive Officer, said that the certification process will not only help the subjects from being evicted.
“You cannot solve any land dispute without certified documents. The documents will defend you in case there are issues which may drag you to court. Documents ascertaining your ownership will be first requirement ,”he said.
Mr Kabogoza explained that having the land board’s services extended to Buganda Kingdom subjects is intended to solve any land-related issues at the grassroot level.
“All Bibanja owners should use the right procedures to acquire certificates of ownership and shun the notion that the Kingdom land is free for all,” he said.
He added that Kabaka‘s land is not free and no one should settle on it without permission from BLB officials in the area.
“Let’s all be on alert to guard our land and to make use of the Buganda chiefs for consultations and advice on how to get certified as a Kibanja owner, ” Mr Kabogoza said.
Makindye Deputy Residence City Commissioner, Ms Katongole Kobusingye, reiterated government’s commitment to work hand in hand with the Kabaka to solve the ever-increasing impasse on land matters.
“I urge all citizens to fulfill their obligations as land owners. Remit the annual ground rent (Busuulu) or secure lease for ownership,” Ms Kobusingye said.
She also emphasized that the Kabaka does not evict anyone from Bibanja land as long as they legalise their ownership through the right procedures.
The Busiro County Chief, Owek. Charles Kiberu Kisiiriza applauded BLB for the cordial relationship with the Kingdom chiefs at various levels in managing and guarding the Kabaka’s land.
“Working together with the BLB, we have managed to stop encroachers on Kabaka's land and those who want to reside there have to go through the right procedure to have ownership,” he said.
Mr Kisiiriza also urged BLB to sensitise all Kabaka’s subjects who are residing on Kabaka land on how they can acquire ownership without being swindled by imposters.
Buganda Land Board
The development comes as BLB celebrates 30 years of existence. Over 500 people received free medical care during a health camp at Masulita as part of activities to mark the anniversary.
Buganda land
Before the 1900 agreement between the British and Buganda kingdom, land in Buganda belonged to everyone within Buganda but governed by specific traditional office holders.
In his book "The Mailo system in Buganda," Henry W. West, who was assistant commissioner for lands and surveys in the early 1960s explains that the basic unit of the mailo system is a square mile, hence the derivation of mailo, which is also equivalent to 640 acres.
West notes that the word mailo is used in Uganda to describe a land tenure system that came into effect when the Buganda kingdom signed an agreement with the British administered Uganda Protectorate in 1900.
