Over 5000 Households Receive Free Certificates Of Customary Ownership In Karamoja

Local people from more than 5000 households have received free Certificates of Customary Ownership (CCOs) on their land in Amudat and Nabilatuk Districts.

 The event leading to the issuance of seven titles on 140,000 acres to five communal land associations was held at Lorengedwat Sub County headquarters in Moroto District on March 6.
The associations include Kopo Kogh Kalya, Narisae, Kadengi Keor Kamaturu, Ket po cho mokongwo, and Ace geretolim.

Lands Minister Judith Nabakooba witnessed the group of Karamajongs gaining full ownership of their land after getting government formal documents in a process that was funded by the government and associations paid Shs10,000 for an application form and a certificate.

“The certificates of customary land ownership show proof of ownership of your customary land. A title is conclusive evidence of ownership according to the laws,” Nabakooba said.

She urged beneficiaries to embrace development in their area to allow investors who wish to establish developmental projects pass through the right procedures and develop the land.
 “If development comes in your area for example roads, please give the investor free land because there is no use in having land without a road, electricity and water,” she advised.

With these titles, the rightful registered customary land owners can now interface with investors who seek to lease, rent or hire customary land.
The minister urged land owners to keep their certificates jealousy. “Do not sell your land but put it to productive use in order to fight food insecurity and poverty.”

The certificates were processed using scientific methods of capturing the boundary coordinates as a means to secure the customary land and prevent abuse, grabbing by unscrupulous individuals, speculators or fraudulent land dealers.

Agnes Nandutu, the State Minister for Karamoja affairs, re-echoed the lands minister’s message of using the land for productive work.

“We are glad that a micro irrigation project is already in Karamoja. Let us engage in agriculture and where possible, if the investors come to develop our land, we allow them,” she said.
Nandutu also cautioned locals who still possess guns and asked them to take them back to the army officers.
Mr Emmanuel Longes Loriika, LC III Chairperson Lorengedwat Sub County asked the government to do a follow-up on the certificates of customary land ownership they have issued to the associations to find out what the beneficiaries are going to do with them.

Dennis Obbo, the spokesperson for the ministry of lands, said they titled the land in the region because in the beginning, they formed communal land associations as the law requires.
“According to the law, for any customary institution, clan or community to own land, it must incorporate itself into a legal entity that can hold and own land.”

The five communities which constitute five to seven villages came together and agreed that they will hold and own land together as a communal land association because they use it together and want to protect its boundaries.
Communal land registration process
The process starts with filling a landform, taking it to the sub county and paying Shs5,000 for the form and another Shs5,000 for the certificate.

The forms are handed over to the area land committee who gives a 14-day notice to come to the ground to visit it and go around marking boundaries and ensure there are no boundaries and no person is left out who has a claim of interest.

Mr Obbo said in most of these associations, vulnerable groups like women, minors, absentee persons and persons living with disabilities are the people who constitute the communal land associations.
“75 per cent of the beneficiaries of these titles on average are women and they are the owners of the land.”
After filling the forms, they are taken to the district land board where they are approved. And once approved, an instruction is given to the sub county chief who is the recorder/registrar to prepare the certificate.

“I urge all customary owners that this is the way to go if your land is not registered, it is vulnerable to being taken away,” Mr Obbo added.