ALEBTONG – For years, land disputes have split families, fueled bloody clan clashes, and left the vulnerable at the mercy of land grabbers. But that chapter may finally be closing in Alebtong District.
The Deputy Resident District Commissioner (RDC), Mathias Lutwama, together with district land officials and partners from Cordaid and ZOA organizations, has spent the last three months on a rigorous field sensitization campaign across the district. Their mission? Teaching ordinary citizens how to acquire free Certificates of Customary Land Ownership – written in their names – directly from the government.
This initiative, aligned with the NRM government's vision of transforming society from a peasantry to a modern and prosperous one, comes at zero cost to the beneficiaries. All expenses are fully covered by the Government of Uganda in partnership with Cordaid and ZOA.
The program targets three fundamental objectives:
· Deterring clan conflicts that have long induced deaths arising from incessant fights over land boundaries and ownership.
· Putting to extinction the culture of land grabbers – individuals who simply wake up and claim land belongs to them without any validation.
· Inducing sustainable agro-industrialization for citizens, boosting productivity and value addition through secure land tenure.
The sensitization drive has reached:Angetta Sub-county,Adwir Sub-county,Apala Sub-county and Aloi Sub-county
A total of 518 families (five hundred and eighteen) have been fully registered and certified ready to receive their land customary titles. These are not just numbers – they are households that will no longer wake up to find their ancestral land stolen by fraudsters or grabbed by powerful neighbors.
For any citizen in Alebtong, the process is now clear and transparent:
· Step 1: Expression of interest by a family – pick a form from the Sub-county, fill it, and return it.
· Step 2: The Area Land Committee (formally designated by government) inspects the said land for registration in the presence of all citizens, then produces a report.
· Step 3: The Physical Planning Committee at Sub-county level receives the documented report, inspects and surveys the land – again in the presence of all local citizens.
· Step 4: The District Land Board convenes, receives all applicant files, and scrutinizes them one by one.
· Step 5 (Final): Authentic and confirmed files are forwarded to the Ministry of Lands Zonal Office (Lango) to process the land title in the applicant's name.
All 518 certified applicants in Alebtong District shall commence receiving their Certificates of Title on July 4th, 2026 – in a well-recognized public ceremony. Witnesses, local leaders, and government officials will be present to hand over the documents that finally say: "This land is yours."
For decades, customary land ownership was a promise without papers. Now, Alebtong citizens can hold government-backed titles without spending a single shilling. Lutwama and his team have taken the message to the grassroots – and come July 4, land grabbers in Alebtong may find themselves out of business.
