Parliament has referred government’s decision to temporarily suspend the routine issuance of Special Certificates of Title to the Lands Committee for further scrutiny, amid concerns over its legal implications and impact on Ugandans who use land titles as security for loans.
Speaker Jacob Marksons Oboth-Oboth referred the ministerial statement on the suspension to the Committee on Lands, which will consider it alongside its ongoing inquiry into fraud and double titling in the land sector.
The matter follows a statement by the Minister of State for Lands, Harriet Ntabazi, explaining government’s decision to halt the routine issuance of Special Certificates for three months while the Ministry reviews procedures and safeguards.
The suspension followed complaints from registered landowners, financial institutions, traditional institutions, administrators of estates and other stakeholders over cases where Special Certificates were allegedly issued despite the existence of original duplicate certificates.
According to Ntabazi, some complaints involve situations where original titles were allegedly being held by money lenders, advocates, financial institutions, relatives and estate administrators.
She said the Ministry had also received allegations of double titling, overlapping interests, fraudulent statutory declarations, manipulation of succession processes and irregular dealings involving land belonging to deceased persons.
Ntabazi told Parliament that some of the allegedly irregularly obtained Special Certificates had subsequently been used to transfer land, raising questions about the integrity of Uganda’s land registration system.
She said the suspension was not intended to abolish Special Certificates or permanently deny genuine landowners access to replacement certificates where original titles have genuinely been lost.
Instead, the three-month intervention is intended to allow the Ministry to identify weaknesses, investigate reported abuses and strengthen verification mechanisms.
However, the decision has raised concerns over what happens to landowners whose original certificates are lost during the suspension, particularly those who need replacement documents to transact or access financial services.
Of particular concern is the position of Ugandans who have deposited original titles with banks or money lenders as security for loans.
Buliisa County MP Allan Atugonza opposed the suspension, arguing that the reasons given by the Minister do not fall among the exceptions envisaged under the law for stopping their issuance.
He urged the Minister to follow the law in addressing the concerns. Shadow Minister of Lands Sumaya Nabawanuka said that while concerns over fraud were valid, the problems could be addressed administratively without suspending issuance.
The Minister defended the decision, acknowledging the broader economic importance of land.
“The Government therefore has a duty to ensure that the process through which a replacement certificate acquires the same legal efficacy as the original certificate is protected from fraud, abuse, administrative error and manipulation,” Ntabazi said.
She stressed that Special Certificates themselves are not inherently problematic, arguing that the concern is the alleged abuse of the procedure through which they are obtained.
Ntabazi said government’s objective is to restore confidence in the land registration system while ensuring that genuine proprietors who have actually lost their certificates retain access to the statutory mechanism for obtaining replacements.
The Ministry plans to work with investigative agencies, the Judiciary, legal professionals, financial institutions, traditional institutions and civil society as part of the review.
Ntoroko County MP Edson Rugumayo, who chairs Parliament’s Lands Committee, supported the temporary suspension, saying he was familiar with the chaos in the land sector and the backlog of land-related cases in courts arising from fraud.
Ntabazi also said private individuals who deliberately manipulate the system could be held accountable, while complaints from innocent citizens affected by irregularities would be handled fairly.
Deputy Attorney General Jackson Kafuuzi said government’s decision did not amount to a suspension of the law. He explained that members of the public seeking the certificates would instead have to wait for three months while the Ministry undertakes measures to rectify weaknesses in the system.
Government’s stated objective is ultimately to ensure that each parcel of land has one legitimate chain of title and that the Land Register remains reliable.