The communities of Naut and Nakonyen in Moroto District are celebrating a major milestone after receiving a Community Land Association certificate from the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development.
The certificate is expected to strengthen protection of communal land against land grabbers while also giving residents stronger bargaining power when negotiating with investors.
The development comes amid increasing land disputes and evictions across different parts of the country, which have pushed many communities to seek formal land documentation as proof of ownership. Government officials say applications for land certificates and titles have increased in recent months due to fears of losing land to illegal evictions and conflicts involving landlords, tenants, and alleged land grabbers.
For many residents, obtaining formal land documents is now viewed as one of the strongest ways to safeguard ancestral land and prevent encroachment.
Speaking during the handover ceremony, Joseph Kibande, Senior Registrar at the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, said the law allows communities to organize themselves into land associations.
“The current laws allow any community to form a land association, and that is why we are in Moroto to hand over this certificate,” Kibande said.
The issuance of the certificate comes at a time when investors continue to show interest in Karamoja due to the region’s vast mineral resources.
Joseph Onyait, Director of Granite General Contractors, said the company supported the communities throughout the process of acquiring the certificate and would continue supporting them to secure a land title.
“We supported the community to acquire the Community Land Association certificate, and the next step is to help them acquire a land title to further strengthen ownership and protection of the land,” Onyait said.
Residents welcomed the move, saying it could help address long-standing boundary conflicts between Moroto and Amudat districts.
Lokawa Michael, an elder from Moroto, said disputes between residents of Loroo Sub-county in Amudat and Tapac Sub-county in Moroto have persisted for years because of unclear boundaries.
“Residents of Loroo and Tapac have been in conflict because of boundary disputes, but we believe this certificate will help settle the matter,” he said.
Officials, however, cautioned that while the growing demand for land certificates reflects increasing awareness about land rights, it also exposes deeper tensions and weak enforcement systems that continue to fuel land conflicts in many communities.
