The community policing department has revealed that many Ugandans lack sufficient knowledge about land matters which has caused conflict in many parts of the country.
This was revealed by Anatoli Muleterwa, the head of community policing department while announcing upcoming dialogue aimed at sensitising the public on how to peacefully resolve land related conflicts with aid of police.
Muleterwa said that this is to be done because police across the country has received many complaints of land wrangles unsatisfactorily solved by police.
“Hate never spreads knowledge but ignorance. Let us aspire to be knowledgeable and be empowered with procedures, with this we shall be empowered on how to secure our land but sometimes we are obsessed with ignorance and we tempt to go overboard and raise unnecessary frictions,” said Anatoli Muleterwa.
According to him, many people report land conflicts to police and imagine that the police can determine ownership of land.
“Fellow countrymen, let me inform you that it is not the role of the police to issue and determine ownership of land. I therefore want to call upon you that whenever you have an issue of determination of land ownership, it does not lie with police,” he said.
He then cautioned some the people who use the police to scare others and defraud them before warning officers to desist from being used by people with selfish interests.
Muleterwa said that the department will commence with sensitisation on the various ways of acquiring land to Ugandans.
He however pointed out that most of the ways of acquiring land are marred with a lot of fraud especially where procedures are not followed and called upon Ugandans to always do due diligence to avoid conflict.
The head of department also warned local leaders who always meddle in land acquired through inheritance saying that some leaders still hold perceptions that women must not inherit property.
“This is wrong and I would like to call upon especially local leaders that please facilitate proper inheritance of land especially if the cultural leaders have established the rightful heir. Your work is not to antagonise,” Muleterwa said.
However, the law enforcement body further outlined some of the major causes of land wrangles with bureaucratic delay in administration of justice in the lead.
It is said that litigation processes in matters of land always takes long in Uganda and most of the challenges starts from the LC level and village land committees.
The community policing head also revealed that the unethical conduct of some police officers with selfish interests in matters of land have fuelled some conflicts and the problem of politics.
“The issue of our vote verses the law has been also a major problem. In some instances some people pretend to be victims but because they are the majority they tend to pretend and yet in reality they lack an iota of truth and this is the major issue,” police said.
“Please let not hate be able to override knowledge, even if you’re the majority, the majority can go wrong. Take it as a point to know what the law says I call upon each of you to always follow the right procedures,” he added.
