Muslims under the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council (UMSC) have decried the rampant land grabbing of chunks of land belonging to the Muslim community in Uganda including the ranches which they accuse government of stealing.
Officials from the Lands Department of the UMSC say that out of the 25 square miles of land previously owned by the Muslims, 21 square miles have since been fraudulently acquired by government. The land in question included 4 ranches which were situated in parts of Mijera/Nakakola, Kiryandongo, Masaka, Mawogola, Bunya Ranch and Ankole that were lost in 1989.
These revelations were made before the Commission of Inquiry into land management on Tuesday by Al-Hajji Musana Kawanguzi Sulaiman who is the senior Land Officer at the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council. He was appearing together with Dr Hussein Bowa, the Secretary of the Land Office and Isaac Kugonza their legal counsel.
He said that UMSC inherited several land properties in every district in Uganda from the colonial days but that much of this land has been fraudulently transfered into ownership of some individuals while the rest has been subdivided and possesses double titles.
“During the government restructuring of ranches in 1989, UMSC lost a lot ranches some of which had been purchased but jot by allocation. We had 4 ranches, one of these in Nakakola was 14 square miles but it was all taken,” Al-Hajji Sulaiman said in his submissions to the Commission headed by Justine Catherine Bamugemereire.
He said that UMSC has never been compensated for these properties after 29 years. He cited challenges of judicial delays and political interference in the implementation of court orders which have made it difficult to have many of these disputes settled.
“There is land in Kitante measuring to 15 acres which UMSC acquired in 1977 and was leased for 99 year. The lease is still running but the land has now been divided into several titles,” he said.
In other areas of Nakabale, Bugiri, Masaka and Mbarara, he said that other pieces of land for which UMSC possesses the relevant documents have been lost under unscrupulous dealings.
“Individuals come up and change Supreme Council land into their own names. In Masindi town, we have been tenants since Asians left, but recently individuals registered Masindi Town Mosque Ltd and changed the title before the running title expires,” he said.
Al-Hajji Musana Kawanguzi told the Commission that the problem of grabbing of Muslim land has resulted from the fact that the bulk of their land (about 80%) is not surveyed. This, he explained, is due to financial constraints by the UMSC.
However, Fred Ruhindi, one of the Commissioners sought an explanation on the progress made to resolve the long standing factions within the Muslim leadership in Uganda, since this could frustrate the efforts by UMSC to engage government on their land related grievances.
“We handed the report by the Commission that was looking into these matters to the President, and we agreed that he is going to address the general assembly of the Muslim Council. But much as we have internal issues, whether land belong to Kibuli or Old Kampala, it is all Muslim land,” he said.
The Commission also highlighted an issue in Jinja district in which a Muslim LC 3 Chairman forcefully encroached on government land meant for a railway project and instead built a mosque. Musana and Dr Hussein assured the Commission that they would follow up on the matter.
In his recommendations to the Commission, the delegation asked that government considers religious leaders for positons in land administration and tribunals. They also requested that government supports UMSC with funding to enable it survey its land.