Pay us or return our land titles, Jinja locals tell Unra

Project Affected Person (PAPs) in Jinja City are demanding their land titles from the Uganda National Roads Authority (Unra) over delayed compensation.

The PAPs’ concerns are contained in a letter to Unra Executive Director Ms Allen Kagina, signed by 17 members on the 127Km-long Amber Court-Mbulamuti-Kamuli-Bugungu Road.

The road which has featured in successive parliamentary budgets since 2001 to 2021, and in the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) manifestos of 2001, 2006, 2011, 2016 and 2021, connects Jinja City/district to Kamuli District, through Mbulamuti Village and Sub-county on the banks of River Nile to Bukungu in Buyende District.

The PAPs on the road project were prohibited from making any alterations or developments on their land as such changes would not attract compensation.

“We have been a patient and peaceful, but we need our titles back to enable us access loans from financial institutions to start redevelopment of our land,” the October 25, letter signed by Dr Sam Olam on behalf of the PAPs reads in part.

Dr Olam, who signed the compensation on behalf of the PAPs, says the payment is overdue and the time they had been promised the money by Unra has elapsed.

“We were assessed for compensation on October 13, 2021, and subsequently on March 30, 2023, we were verified and signed off after disclosure of how much a person is to get according to the property,” he said.

“Unfortunately, it is one-and-a-half years with no payment,” Dr Olam said on Wednesday, noting that the PAPs need timelines for when compensation will be made if the government is still interested in their land.

Ms Rosemary Afoyochan, a PAP residing in Kimaka, said she had booked buying land elsewhere while expecting the money but recently went back to inquire about the land and its price had tripled because of Jinja City status.

Mr Felix Oluba, another PAP also residing in Kimaka, said he was “excited” when he was told that the money would be paid “as soon as possible last year,” but to his disappointment, there has been no message from the bank about the money.

Mr Oluba, who has been bedridden for the past 14 years, said he wants to use part of that money to pay his medical bills than depending on relatives.

According to Ms Kagina, the project is in the pipeline, finance has been identified and arrangements are in the final stages to confirm the funding.

She also said the contract agreement has been signed despite not disclosing the contractor.

“What is now left is attaching money to the contract and contractor. The process of land acquisition is a long one that starts with Unra and ends with the Ministry of Works and Transport. We have all the land titles in our custody and whoever wants to confirm can come to our office to check,” Ms Kagina said.

She added: “If somebody wants his or her (land) title back, we can give it back and when the project starts, we will still need it to verify a portion of the land required.”

‘No titles’

Kamuli District LC5 chairman, Mr Maxwell Kuwembula, said because the government has delayed constructing the road in the past 28 years, yet its budget has always been passed by Parliament, residents are “right” to demand their property.

His Buyende District counterpart, Mr Michael Kanaku, said 99 percent of the PAPs on the road project do not have any titles, but they are patiently waiting for compensation from the government.