UGANDA, Mpigi | Real Muloodi News | Residents of Membe Villagein in Maziba Parish, Mpigi District are overjoyed after Scovia Nabbosa, the Administrator of the late Bonifacio Serunkuma’s estate, gave them property titles for the plots of land they occupy.
The residents have occupied 233 acres of land in the estate for more than 30 years. However, they had never acquired land titles for their various plots. They say they had been living in terror of loaming evictions as a result.
At a hand-over ceremony held at Membe Village, Area Councillor Charles Kasasa, the Speaker for Mpigi Town Council, said that incidences of land grabbing are very high in the district. Therefore, the titles will boost people’s confidence as now they can prove that they are the legitimate owners of the property they inhabit.
“We thank the family of Bonifacio Serunkuma through their Administrator Nabbosa Scovia for allowing us to negotiate with the people towards acquiring land titles. In this area, a plot of land 100*100 titled is better than an acre which has no title, therefore I call upon those who have not yet applied for the processing of their land titles to do it with immediate effect because land issues are more common now,” Kasasa said.
Kisuule Jamil, a former NRM Chairperson for Maziba Parish and one of the recipients, praised the Serunkuma family for providing them with the opportunity to acquire land titles.
“I have been staying on this land since 1981 as a squatter. When I was approached by the landlord, we agreed that I give her one acre out of the three I had. I am happy that now I have the land title in my hands and therefore urge all others who have not yet started on the process to do so,” Kisuule said.
Scovia Nabbosa, Administrator of the Bonifacio Serunkuma estate, praised the residents for their patience and cooperation during the arduous process of obtaining the property titles.
“Some of the land titles are still awaiting signatures for transfer, some of the beneficiaries agreed that we take part of their land and we have produced 100 land titles today,” she said.
The entire procedure, according to Fredrick Egesa of Tembe Properties Uganda Limited, who was hired to process the titles by the Serunkuma family, has been successful.
“This process is not hard as many people tend to allege but it depends on the relationship between the tenants with their landlord, so if you want the whole process to go on very well with ease, just be cooperative as our people here,” Egesa said.
Land evictions are common in the Mpigi district and the Central Region as a whole, particularly in places where people lack land titles. The evictions were marked by murder, property destruction, and widespread relocation of people and families.
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