Squatting in Uganda

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Uganda in green on globe
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Informal settlement in Kampala
The Katanga slum Katanga from Mulago 2.JPG
The Katanga slum

Squatting in Uganda is the occupation of derelict buildings or unused land without the permission of the owner. The complicated history of land tenure has generated conflicts between squatters and owners.

Contents

Legality

In the Bugandan Kingdom (a Bantu kingdom within Uganda) as well as other areas, the 1900 Buganda Agreement assigned land to tribal leaders under the mailo system in which land is owned in perpetuity. [1] The 1995 Constitution of Uganda mandated four forms of land ownership, namely mailo, customary, freehold and leasehold. [2] Tenant rights were then boosted by the 1998 Land Act and its 2010 amendment. [3] The government sought to regulate squatting amongst other things with the 2010 Land Amendment Act and the 2018 Landlord and Tenant Bill. [1] People occupying publicly owned land are defined as squatters. [4]

History

The complicated history of land tenure has generated conflicts between squatters and owners. [3] Pastoralists such as the Bahima were driven off their traditional lands when the government created ranches and nature reserves, thus forcing them to become squatters. This had generated a crisis by 1990. [5]

In 2007, Makerere University in the capital Kampala began demolishing shacks in the Katanga slum. [6] People fleeing violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo entered western Uganda in 2012 and when the refugee camps became full, they began squatting. A local administrator was killed when he went to check on the squatters. [7] Violence broke out in 2014, when Bunyoro people evicted Congolese people squatting on their ancestral lands. [8] President Yoweri Museveni asked land owners to stop evicting squatters in 2018. [9] In 2019, a Wamala landlord was hacked to death. [1] Mining companies from countries such as Spain and China have been buying up land in Karamoja for mining and thus the people living on the lands have become squatters. [10]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Squatting in England and Wales</span> Occupation of unused land or derelict buildings in England and Wales

In England and Wales, squatting – taking possession of land or an empty house the squatter does not own – is a criminal or civil offence, depending on circumstances. People squat for a variety of reasons which include needing a home, protest, poverty, and recreation. Many squats are residential; some are also opened as social centres. Land may be occupied by New Age travellers or treesitters.

In the United States, squatting occurs when a person enters land that does not belong to them without lawful permission and proceeds to act in the manner of an owner. Historically, squatting occurred during the settlement of the Midwest when colonial European settlers established land rights and during the California Gold Rush. There was squatting during the Great Depression in Hoovervilles and also during World War II. Shanty towns returned to the US after the Great Recession (2007–2009) and in the 2010s, there were increasing numbers of people occupying foreclosed homes using fraudulent documents. In some cases, a squatter may be able to obtain ownership of property through adverse possession.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Squatting in Ghana</span>

Squatting in Ghana is the occupation of unused land or derelict buildings without the permission of the owner. Informal settlements are found in cities such as Kumasi and the capital Accra. Ashaiman, now a town of 100,000 people, was swelled by squatters. In central Accra, next to Agbogbloshie, the Old Fadama settlement houses an estimated 80,000 people and is subject to a controversial discussion about eviction. The residents have been supported by Amnesty International, the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions and Shack Dwellers International.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Squatting in Honduras</span> The occupation of unused land or derelict buildings without the permission of the owner

Squatting in Honduras is the occupation of unused land or derelict buildings without the permission of the owner. As the population of Honduras grew from the 1960s onwards, peasants occupied land. The Government of Honduras responded by giving peasants title to land and deporting Salvadoran migrants. The measures had limited success and in the 2010s, squatters continued to self-organise land invasions. The indigenous Miskito people are affected by squatters who practice illegal logging and drugs trafficking.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Squatting in Nepal</span>

Squatting in Nepal occurs when people live on land or in buildings without the valid land ownership certificate. The number of squatters has increased rapidly since the 1980s, as a result of factors such as internal migration to Kathmandu and two decades of civil war in Nepal. In March 2021, the chairperson of the Commission on Landless Squatters stated that all landless squatters would receive ownership certificates within the following eighteen months.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Squatting in Angola</span> Occupation of unused land or derelict buildings in Angola without permission of owner

Squatting in Angola occurs when displaced peoples occupy informal settlements in coastal cities such as the capital Luanda. The Government of Angola has been criticized by human rights groups for forcibly evicting squatters and not resettling them.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Squatting in Thailand</span> Occupation of unused land or derelict buildings without permission of owner

Squatting in Thailand was traditionally permissible under customary law and adverse possession can occur after ten years of continuous occupation. As of 2015, the capital Bangkok had over 2 million squatters, out of a population of around 10 million. A survey of slums across the country noted in 2000 that most were rented not squatted; Khlong Toei District in Bangkok contains both squatters and tenants. There are also squatters in rural areas. The 1975 Agricultural Land Reform Act aimed to redistribute land to poor people under the Sor Por Kor program and as of 2019, 36 million rai of land had been assigned.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Squatting in Liberia</span>

Squatting in Liberia is one of three ways to access land, the other two being ownership by deed or customary ownership. The informal settlement West Point was founded in the capital Monrovia in the 1950s and is estimated to house between 29,500 and 75,000 people. During the First Liberian Civil War 1989–1997 and the Second Liberian Civil War 1999–2003, many people in Liberia were displaced and some ended up squatting in Monrovia. The Ducor Hotel fell into disrepair and was squatted, before being evicted in 2007. In the early 2020s, over 9,000 Burkinabés were squatting on remote land and the Liberia Land Authority (LLA) announced a plan to title all land in the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Squatting in Taiwan</span> Illegal occupation of property in Taiwan

Squatting in Taiwan is the occupation of unused land or derelict buildings without the permission of the owner. Squatting was fuelled by migrants from China from the 1950s onwards and in addition cities such as the capital Taipei were swelled by internal migrants from the countryside. In order to create Daan Forest Park, 12,000 squatters were evicted. The informal settlement at Treasure Hill has been recognized as cultural heritage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Squatting in Kenya</span> Residential occupation in farms and cities

During the colonial occupation of Kenya, Black Africans working on farms owned by white settlers were called "squatters" by the British. As of 1945, there were over 200,000 such squatters in the Highlands and more than half were Kikuyu. The Mau Mau rebellion began amongst these squatters in the late 1940s and after independence in the early 1960s, peasants started squatting land in rural areas without the permission of the owner.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Lamwaka, Beatrice (19 January 2020). "Violence Between Landlords and Tenants Turns Deadly". Global Press Journal. Archived from the original on 8 May 2021. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  2. What the law says on evictions. Kampala: Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development. 2017.
  3. 1 2 Ali, Daniel; Duponchel, Marguerite (2018). Shortcomings to overlapping land rights and a way forward: the case of Mailo land in Central Uganda. World Bank.
  4. Place, F.; Otsuka, K. (August 2002). "Land Tenure Systems and Their Impacts on Agricultural Investments and Productivity in Uganda". Journal of Development Studies. 38 (6): 105–128. doi:10.1080/00220380412331322601. S2CID   153876472.
  5. Bazaara, Nyangabyaki (1994). "Land reforms and agrarian structure in Uganda: retrospect and prospect". Nomadic Peoples (34/35): 37–53. ISSN   0822-7942. JSTOR   43124071. Archived from the original on 11 May 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  6. Kiwawulo, Chris (19 March 2007). "Makerere razes Katanga buildings". New Vision. Archived from the original on 16 March 2015. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  7. "Land row delays resettlement of Congolese refugees". The New Humanitarian (in French). IRIN. 7 March 2012. Archived from the original on 10 May 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  8. Ongode, Beatrice (8 December 2014). "Uganda: Several injured & more than 70 houses burnt after violent land dispute in oil-rich region". Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (in French). Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  9. "Stop Evicting Squatters — Museveni Warns Landlords". Uganda Mirror. 12 December 2018. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  10. "Locals turned into squatters as mining firms take over Karamoja". Daily Monitor. 30 September 2019. Archived from the original on 11 May 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2021.