Parliament has referred the Government’s decision to temporarily suspend the routine issuance of Special Certificates of Title to the Lands Committee for further scrutiny, amid concerns over the legal implications of the suspension and its potential impact on Ugandans who use land titles as security for loans.
The Speaker of Parliament, 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 the Government’s decision to halt the routine issuance of Special Certificates of Title for three months while the Ministry reviews the procedures and safeguards governing their issuance.
The suspension follows growing complaints from registered landowners, financial institutions, traditional institutions, administrators of estates and other stakeholders over cases in which Special Certificates of Title were allegedly issued despite the continued existence or custody 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, estate administrators and other persons with legitimate interests in the land.
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 of Title or permanently deny genuine landowners access to replacement certificates where original titles have genuinely been lost or destroyed.
Instead, the three-month intervention is intended to allow the Ministry to identify weaknesses in the existing system, investigate reported abuses and strengthen verification and due-diligence mechanisms.
However, the decision has raised concerns over what happens to landowners whose original certificates are lost or unavailable during the suspension, particularly those who need replacement documentation to conduct transactions or access financial services.
Of particular concern is the position of Ugandans who have deposited original land titles with banks, money lenders or other institutions as security for loans.
A land title is commonly relied upon by financial institutions as evidence of registered ownership and as security for lending. Any uncertainty surrounding the issuance or validity of replacement certificates could have implications for borrowers, lenders and other parties with interests in registered land.
Idi Bassaija opposed the decision to suspend the issuance of Special Certificates of Title, 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 surrounding the certificates.
The Shadow Minister of Lands, Sumaya Nabawanuka, said that while concerns over fraud in the issuance of certificates of title were valid, the problems could be addressed administratively without suspending the issuance of Special Certificates of Title.
The Minister, however, defended the Government’s decision, acknowledging the broader economic importance of land as a home, inheritance, business collateral and security for future generations.
She said Government could not treat allegations of manipulation of certificates of title as ordinary administrative complaints because registered titles are relied upon by citizens, courts, banks, investors and purchasers when making decisions involving substantial economic value.
“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 of Title themselves are not inherently problematic, arguing that the concern is the alleged abuse of the procedure through which they are obtained.
Ntabazi said the 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, civil society and members of the public as part of the review.
The Minister said investigations would be guided by evidence and that errors would be corrected in accordance with the law, while public officers found responsible for misconduct could face disciplinary or legal action.
Ntoroko County MP Edson Rugumayo 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 and problems with land registration.
Rugumayo, who chairs Parliament’s Lands Committee, said the suspension should be supported to give the Ministry time to clean up the process and address weaknesses in the land registration system.
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 and expeditiously.
The Deputy Attorney General, Jackson Kafuuzi, said the Government’s decision to halt the issuance of Special Certificates of Title 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. The 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-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
