The government has suspended the routine issuance of Special Certificates of Title for three months amid growing concerns over double titling, fraudulent declarations and manipulation of land transactions.
The temporary halt, announced by Lands, Housing and Urban Development minister Judith Nabakooba at the Uganda Media Centre on Wednesday, is intended to allow the ministry to investigate reported abuses and tighten safeguards around the land registration system.
Nabakooba said the ministry had received numerous complaints from registered landowners, financial institutions, traditional institutions, estate administrators, beneficiaries and other stakeholders over alleged irregularities involving Special Certificates of Title.
The complaints include cases of double titling and overlapping land interests, fraudulent declarations claiming that original titles have been lost, manipulation of succession processes and irregular transactions involving land belonging to deceased persons.
The ministry has also received reports of land being transferred using Special Certificates even when the original duplicate certificates are reportedly still in existence.
“This calls for internal investigations to protect the integrity of Uganda’s Land Register,” Nabakooba said.
Three-month review
Under the Registration of Titles Act, Special Certificates of Title are issued by the Registrar of Titles through the Department of Land Registration and the ministry’s 22 zonal offices.
The certificates are intended for cases where an original duplicate certificate has been lost, destroyed or rendered unusable. A registered proprietor is required to make an application, provide a statutory declaration explaining the loss or damage, pay the prescribed fees and have a notice published in the Uganda Gazette for 30 days to allow objections.
Where no objection is raised, the Office of Titles can issue a Special Certificate mirroring the original title while invalidating the old certificate.
Nabakooba said the ministry has directed the Office of Titles, headed by the Commissioner for Land Registration, to suspend the routine issuance of the certificates while the existing procedures, verification mechanisms and institutional controls are reviewed.
The minister, however, stressed that the government was not abolishing Special Certificates or preventing genuine landowners from accessing the legal mechanism.
“Special Certificates of Title are not inherently problematic. The concern is the abuse or manipulation of the process through which they are obtained or issued by Office of Titles,” she said.
The review will seek to identify loopholes that may be exploited by fraudsters and strengthen verification and due diligence before certificates are issued.
It will also examine ways of protecting genuine landowners and third parties who rely on the land register when purchasing property, securing loans or making other investments.
Officers face action
Nabakooba said the ministry will work with investigative agencies and professional bodies, including the Uganda Law Society, Uganda Bankers Association, Private Sector Foundation Uganda and the Surveyors Registration Board, during the review.
She said the exercise would be evidence-based and could result in administrative changes or recommendations to amend the Registration of Titles Act if existing procedures are found to be inadequate.
Government officials found to have participated in the manipulation of the land registration process will face disciplinary action under the Public Service Standing Orders.
Third parties who knowingly collude with officials or submit false information to obtain Special Certificates will also be referred to investigative agencies for possible prosecution.
The ministry will further investigate complaints from citizens who may have lost land or suffered other consequences as a result of irregular issuance of Special Certificates.
Nabakooba said the intervention is intended to strike a balance between tightening security around land records and ensuring that legitimate landowners continue to access land services.
“One parcel of land must have one legitimate title. The Land Register must be trusted. No Ugandan should lose his or her land because another person was able to manipulate the process for obtaining a Special Certificate of Title,” she said.
The minister has directed the Permanent Secretary to establish a technical team with a three-month mandate to investigate the reported abuses, identify weaknesses in the system and recommend corrective measures.
The Office of Titles has also been instructed to notify courts about the temporary suspension to prevent the measure from being interpreted as a blanket refusal to provide land registration services.
Nabakooba urged members of the public and other stakeholders with information about suspected fraud to cooperate with the review and submit evidence through the appropriate channels.
