Mounting concerns have surfaced over the questionable privatization of approximately 45,000 hectares of Acholi Sub-region’s state-owned land.
A comprehensive analysis by the Ministry of Lands uncovers that private entities have secured titles for over 158,100 hectares via leasehold and freehold transactions. To date, 213 titles have been granted on state land from 1968 to 2023, encompassing 158,175.98 hectares, with 113 titles (45,244.53 hectares) held as freehold and 100 titles (112,913.45 hectares) as leasehold.
Prof Jack Nyeko Penmogi, interim head of the Uganda Land Commission, clarified that the law forbids freehold ownership on public land. He emphasized, “Verification will lead to the annulment of such titles. Public land is exclusively available for lease, subject to renewal at term’s end.” The report indicates Gulu District has 106 of the 213 state land titles. Agago District records the minimum, with five titles (55.55 hectares). Amuru District accounts for 16 freehold titles (191.4 hectares) and three leasehold titles (1,862.3 hectares), summing up to 2,053.7 hectares.
Gulu is in possession of 39 freehold titles (2,122.52 hectares) and 67 leasehold titles (108,657.62 hectares), aggregating to 110,780.14 hectares. Kitgum holds 17 freehold (206.8 hectares) and 13 leasehold (102.73 hectares) titles, totaling 309.53 hectares. Lamwo lists 16 freehold titles (16,052.17 hectares) and one leasehold title (80.52 hectares), amassing to 16,132.69 hectares. Nwoya, a hub for commercial farming, has six freehold titles (1,054.32 hectares) and 16 leasehold titles (2,210.55 hectares), culminating in 3,264.87 hectares. Omoro and Pader lack leasehold titles; Omoro has six freehold titles (22.66 hectares), and Pader has eight (25,539.12 hectares).
Zooming out to the entire Acholi Sub-region, which spans 2.8 million hectares over eight districts, there are 5,494 land titles processed by the Ministry of Lands. Of these, 2,075 are freehold (174,313 hectares), and 3,419 are leasehold (593,875.2 hectares), with leasehold titles representing 62 percent.
Gulu tops the chart with 3,998 titles, 1,555 being freehold and 2,443 leasehold, covering 240,019.88 hectares (28,167.89 hectares freehold). Kitgum has 223 freehold (6,608.96 hectares) and 526 leasehold (11,705.98 hectares) titles; Nwoya has 55 freehold (44,286 hectares) and 274 leasehold (293,848.4 hectares) titles; Amuru features 145 freehold (23,067.74 hectares) and 82 leasehold (21,901.98 hectares) titles; Omoro has six freehold (22.66 hectares) and 80 leasehold (49,718.61 hectares) titles; Pader presents 46 freehold (52,742.71 hectares) and eight leasehold (4,386.54 hectares) titles; Lamwo has 30 freehold and one leasehold title; and Agago has 15 freehold (356.87 hectares) and five leasehold (381.46 hectares) titles.
Mr. Otinga Otto Atuka, deputy paramount chief of the Acholi chiefdom, reported ongoing grievances from locals concerning intimidation from the National Forestry Authority and the National Environment Management Authority. He pointed out the case of settlers in Pabbo Sub-county’s forest reserve who, after the conflict, are claiming outright ownership and pursuing land titles.
