Museveni Orders Lands Ministry To Issue Lease To Squatters On Public Land

President Museveni, has allowed the lands ministry to issue leases for interested squatters on public land across the country.

This revelation was made by the lands Minister, Judith Nabakooba while presiding over the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party function in Ssekanyonyi and Maanyi Sub Counties in Mityana District on September 26, where she emphasized that whoever wants a lease is free to apply for it.

“We are going to start opening boundaries and give out those leases. This is in a bid to reduce conflicts and evictions on land,” she said.

The minister noted that this will help people utilise their land without any threats of eviction, explaining that squatters usually have no guarantee that they will stay peacefully and permanently on land without any challenges.

The development comes after the government recently bought machines used to do boundary opening on land and these can be accessed by anyone in Mityana.

“Mityana is lucky to be among the first beneficiaries of these machines. It has been a challenge to open boundaries because we lacked these machines in the area but the issue is now resolved,” Ms Nabakooba added.

She however revealed that most of the cases of land conflicts are fueled by family members, especially when the owners of the estates die, the heirs claim full ownership at the expense of the rest of their relatives.

“Being an heir doesn’t mean you torment other family members because in most cases, they are also entitled to having shares on that land. Some even forcefully sell off the estates of the deceased without the knowledge of others.”

She also warned landlords who evict people without court orders or directives from the area Resident District Commissioners (RDCs), to stop it immediately.

Landlords with big chunks of land which have sitting tenants were also promised that the government, through the land fund, will buy their land. The minister asked locals to send such landlords to her office to process payments.

The NRM function was organised to reconcile all party leaders such that those who did not go through in primaries support flag bearers to ensure they win those positions in the forthcoming 2026 general elections.

Minister Nabakooba asked all residents of Mityana to entrust power in all NRM leaders vying for various positions if they want good service delivery, saying, opposition leaders cannot lobby anything from the government.

Ms Faith Tumwebaze, a strong NRM cadre and an ex official of District Executive Committee (DEC), warned all NRM leaders against supporting independent candidates who are in the race but lost during the party primaries.

She said their positions will be taken up if they don’t stop as soon as possible. “We shall first issue a warning to you and if you don’t comply, we shall sit as a committee and send your name to the secretariat before appointing someone else to replace you.”

Mr Noah Ssenkungu, NRM chairperson for Ssekanyonyi, asked fellow party members to unite and work together as they look forward to unseating opposition leaders who swept them out in the last 2021 general elections.
“We seek to have a straight chain right from the President to the lowest positions at village levels if we are to benefit and transform our lives.”

The event was graced by Mr Kamya Makumbi, the NRM flag bearer seeking to unseat incumbent Hon Richard Lumu, MP for Mityana South, and a member of the Democratic Party in the coming 2026 general elections.

Mr Makumbi assured locals that once he reclaims the position, Mityana South will be revived, citing what he did during his tenure as the area MP including extending water points to locals in their respective villages.

Mr Joseph Luzige, the party flag bearer for LC5 chairperson, said locals will keep on regretting if they do the same mistake they did in the last elections.

He asked residents of Mityana to remember the good work which was done when he was in office and compare it to the current leadership.