News on Land

Kampala (Agenzia Fides) – “The situation is getting worse as residents of entire regions are forcibly evicted from their lands. Forced evictions are a clear indication of violations of people’s rights,” according to a report by the Dennis Hurley Peace Institute (DHPI), a research organization sponsored by the Conference of Southern Bishops African (SACBC), on the acts of land seizure at the expense of the local population on the grounds of the Gulu Parish in Northern Uganda.

Landowners in Kisumu County are breathing a sigh of relief following Governor Anyang’ Nyong’os move, to offer them a 100 per cent waiver, on all outstanding interest and penalties on land rates.

The adverse effects of the Covid-19 outbreak on the real estate sector have occasioned the decision that aims to cushion the property owners from further losses.

The County issued a notice signed by the Finance Executive (CECM), George Okong’o, to that effect. The waiver takes effect from May 17 to June 18, 2021.

Lands Cabinet Secretary, Farida Karoney, has assured Kenyans that the National Land Information Management System cannot be interfered with.

Speaking on Wednesday, the CS while responding to questions from Kenyans said measures have been put in place by experts to ensure Ardhi Sasa is safe and secure.

"Our multi-agency team of cyber security experts has put in place all the requisite protocols to ensure Ardhisasa is tamper-proof," Karoney said.

A court in northern Vietnam’s Hoa Binh province on Wednesday sentenced land-rights activist Can Thi Theu and her son Trinh Ba Tu to eight years in prison each for posting online articles and livestream videos criticizing the government for its handling of a deadly land-rights clash last year.

The eight-year terms for the pair, who worked to raise awareness of the socially and politically explosive issue of land grabs in the country of 95 million people, will be followed by three years each on probation, the court’s judgment said.

Current estimates of land-use change may be capturing only one-quarter of its true extent across the world, new research shows.

Medici Land Governance (MLG) has partnered with the Government of Rwanda to pilot a project that aims to make land transfers a paperless process. For the pilot, MLG has built a land transaction platform on blockchain called Ubutaka, which will be integrated with Rwanda’s existing land registry infrastructure.

The government has reclaimed the Naguru-Nakawa land after 10 years.
The land had been given to Opec Prime Properties, an investor, to construct a satellite city.
Dr Chris Baryomunsi, the State minister for Housing and Urban Development, said the land has been earmarked for the construction of a specialised medical centre.

The restitution of ancestral land rights in Namibia has since independence divided opinions.

Some argue it is a fitting process in dealing with colonial era land dispossessions, while others are concerned about the complexity of implementing this kind of restitution.

7,500 families have been saved from mass evictions by Kenya Defence Forces 78 Battalion.

A report by Nation on Sunday, May 16, indicated that KDF was stopped from carrying out further evictions on the 17,000-acre parcel of land located in Tigania East, Meru County.

The freeze orders were issued by the Land and Environment Court in a case filed by 13 of the victims.

The team moved to court at the beginning of May to protest the move by KDF to take over the parcel arguing at the time that the battalion had begun the process of evicting residents.

Early this year the world commemorated the International Day of Forests, with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) joining Uganda to reiterate their commitment to restoring forests and degraded lands, as well as calling for action to reduce deforestation.

Background
The call for forest restoration and better management of the ecosystem was made during a high level national dialogue organised jointly by FAO, the European Union, Sweden and the Ministry of Water and Environment.