Africa-Press – Uganda. The Archbishop of the Church of Uganda, the Most Rt. Rev Stephen Samuel Kaziimba Mugalu has reminded President Museveni of his pledge to re-erect the Ndeeba Anglican Church building which was demolished on August 9, 2020 by court bailifs.
“We are delighted for the pledge the President made to work on all the logistics to compensate land owners and have our church rebuilt. But it’s more than three years now and we are yet to see anything,” he said.
Archbishop Mugalu made the remarks Tuesday as he opened a three-day retreat of 40 Anglican Bishops from 39 Dioceses across the country held at Lweza Training and Conference Centre on Entebbe Road in Wakiso District.
Since the demolition of Ndeeba Church three and a half years ago, the faithful have been praying in a temporary church made of iron sheets.
“The Church has been a victim of land grabbers since some of our land is not titled. The people who donated this land did it in good spirit but it was verbal. We didn’t make any titles or agreements,” Archbishop Mugalu said.
Ms Judith Nabakooba, the Minister for Lands, Housing and Urban Development, who was present at the event pledged to register all Church of Uganda land in a bid to deal with land grabbing which happens to be a big problem in the country.
“I have briefed my permanent secretary and the technical team that this is the time to help churches register their land. Have your trustees regularly updated and make annual returns for those trustees,” she said.
Ms Nabakooba said issues concerning church land are going to be prioritised and encouraged the bishops to always address land matters to zonal land offices.
“Each district has a district staff surveyor and the ministry zonal offices have senior staff surveyor and principal staff surveyor. We have seen instances where people register land in their names as individuals yet it is church land. The people who do this might have clear intentions but when they are no more, their family can claim that property,” she cautioned.
The minister also guided churches to register all their bonafide and lawful occupants to enable them deal with rampant land grabbing and fraud.
“Register bibanja holders to avoid other squatters from flooding the land because, without a register, a loophole is created for squatters to also settle on the land and claim they have been there for 30 years. If such claims are put across, it is very difficult to defend yourself.”
She advised churches to put their land to good use and define boundaries to avoid conflicts with neighbours.
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