UGANDA, Kampala | Real Muloodi News | A team of researchers at Makerere University, Kampala, have digitised over 10,000 paper land records dating from 1830 to 1995. Whereas paper documents are subject to fire, flood, wear and tear, digital data can stand the test of time.
The records range from land titles to land treaties and papers of construction from the Ugandan railways to churches. Ms Naluwooza, one researcher, shared that some documents included; Buganda’s counties and Kabaka’s land, among others. The digitised documents are in the university library, where essential documents of the country are stored.
Land conflicts in Uganda have been worsening over the years because of widespread evictions by politically connected individuals and investors. One of the most contested cases ongoing in the country includes the Buganda Kingdom’s claims on the Kyambogo University land and the land where the State House Entebbe is located. The Buganda Kingdom argues they own 137.5 hectares of Kyambogo land, acquired from Kabaka’s grandfather, Christopher Kisonkolo.
Mr Bashir Kizito Juma, Head of Operations and Corporate Affairs at Buganda Land Board, explained to Daily Monitor that the lack of credible information worsens land conflicts. He further applauded the digitisation of records and deemed it a “game changer”.
“Land documents are under great threat from forgeries, wear and tear and people who may choose to distort them. Digitising is the best way to conserve the documents,” Mr Kizito said.
“The Kyambogo University land conflict couldn’t have been resolved if we didn’t get the archived land documents. The issue dates back to 1920. So, we all had to depend on the documents that were available,” Mr Kizito added.
In the above case, the Ugandan land commission erred in issuing a freehold title to land that belonged to the kingdom.
According to the Buganda Land Board, given its political history and various regimes, the country saw numerous land conflicts. The need for archived documents is essential. The Buganda Kingdom and the government resolved many of their disputes. However, some of the lands returned to the kingdom are still being utilized by the government.
Bravo to the research team of Ms Rhoda Nalubega, Ms Racheal Nabbosa, Ms Monica Naluwooza, and Ms Sara Maka for this innovative approach to the digitization of records.
Dr Helen Byamugisha, the librarian of Makerere University, said: “This is an innovation that will conserve and preserve more than 10,000 land documents. The digitised materials are hosted by the Makerere University Institutional Repository. I commend the library staff for the hard work and commitment. I also thank the government through the Makerere University Research and Innovations Fund for the support.”
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