The Land and Equity Movement in Uganda (LEMU) has issued 17 comprehensive recommendations to the Ugandan government aimed at curbing land-related injustices arising from large-scale land-based investments.
The recommendations follow the conclusion of a three-year research project titled “Preventive Legal Empowerment: Early Alert and Action to Strengthen Rights in the Context of Land-Based Investments in Uganda” (Registration No. SSIII5ES 2002-2025).
The project, implemented in Lango, Teso, Acholi, and Karamoja sub-regions, was designed to proactively address conflicts triggered by land-based investments and elite capture of community lands before harm occurs, rather than offering legal support only after disputes have escalated.
Presenting findings at Hotel Africana in Kampala, Dr. Theresa Auma, LEMU’s Executive Director and Principal Investigator, revealed that over 1,000 land-related grievances linked to land-based investments were documented between 2022 and 2025.
These conflicts predominantly involved customary landowners, who remain the most vulnerable due to lack of land documentation and the rise of land markets that enable investors to acquire land cheaply.
“Customary land rights are at the heart of rural livelihoods, yet they remain undocumented and easily violated,” Dr. Auma stated.
“This project sought to empower communities to act early, to identify potential conflicts, seek legal support proactively, and negotiate from a position of knowledge and agency.”
The research further demonstrated that preventive legal empowerment (PLE) strategies, such as early warning hotlines, investor compliance monitoring, hotspot mapping, and facilitated community-investor dialogues, helped resolve disputes before they escalated into violence or displacement.
Unlike traditional legal approaches that respond after harm has occurred, PLE emphasizes early action to anticipate conflicts, protect community rights, and avert displacement, environmental harm, and human rights abuses associated with poorly regulated land-based investments.
The project explored investments in forestry (Lango and Teso), green energy (Acholi), and mining (Karamoja and Teso), all sectors with high potential for disputes.
Across these regions, community members reported grievances related to land grabbing, labour exploitation, environmental degradation, and inadequate compensation.
The study found that 88% of recorded conflicts were land-related, while 80% remained at the pre-conflict stage, underscoring the importance of early interventions.
However, communities face significant barriers: Lack of formal land documentation with over half of respondents relied on informal proof of ownership such as clan meeting minutes, while 26% had no documentation at all, weak legal protections with Communities reporting that laws and local leadership structures often prioritized investors’ interests.
There the report also highlighted Use of state force with security agencies allegedly deployed in some disputes to intimidate communities opposing investor activities and Marginalization of vulnerable groups including Women, youth, and pastoralists who bore the brunt of land-based displacements yet remained underrepresented in conflict resolution forums.
In response to these challenges, LEMU outlined 17 targeted recommendations designed to strengthen land governance and prevent further community-investor conflicts:
- Reform Laws Governing Investments and Land Acquisition; Revise policies to require clear and transparent procedures for land allocation and investment approvals. Emphasize Free Prior Informed Consent (FPIC), ensure environmental restoration, and mandate disclosure of investment information to all stakeholders.
- Recognize and Protect Community Land Rights; Formally recognize customary tenure and ensure that community surface rights are fairly compensated before mineral extraction or large-scale land acquisitions begin.
- Prioritize Preventive Legal Empowerment; Institutionalize dialogues, negotiations, and community meetings as first-line tools for resolving disputes before escalation.
- Establish Accessible, Affordable Dispute Resolution Mechanisms; Create trusted, community-based forums staffed by long-serving local authorities, cultural leaders, and religious figures trained in conflict mediation.
- Develop Hotspot Mapping and Compliance Tools; Use data-driven mapping to identify conflict-prone zones and monitor investor compliance with legal and environmental obligations.
- Strengthen Strategic Government-CSO Alliances; Build alliances between civil society, local leaders, and state institutions to enforce regulations and confront illegal practices by powerful investors.
- Build Capacity of Land Administrators and Duty Bearers; Train local government officers in conflict resolution and legal enforcement, while boosting their political will to intervene in disputes fairly.
- Leverage Media and Information Campaigns; Provide communities with legal literacy programs and access to investment details. Use media platforms to expose rights violations and demand accountability from investors.
- Ensure Representation of Marginalized Groups; Mandate the inclusion of women, youth, and vulnerable groups in all decision-making forums and conflict resolution platforms.
- Establish Multi-Stakeholder Platforms in Hotspot Regions; Create regional forums where communities, government agencies, and investors jointly address grievances.
- Foster Ethical Investment Practices; Encourage investor accountability through public recognition of companies that comply with ethical and legal standards, while sanctioning violators.
- Promote Community Land Associations (CLAs); Facilitate documentation of communal land rights through CLAs to prevent arbitrary land acquisitions.
- Institutionalize Government-CSO-Community Collaboration; Formalize partnerships where CSOs can mediate disputes, bridge gaps between government and citizens, and facilitate dialogue with investors.
- Compensate Surface Rights Fairly; Enforce timely and adequate compensation for communities before mineral or industrial projects commence operations.
- Support Participatory Land Governance; Adopt inclusive decision-making frameworks that integrate local cultural norms, knowledge systems, and customary practices into formal governance.
- Scale Up Preventive Legal Empowerment Nationwide; Replicate successful PLE models from Lango, Teso, Acholi, and Karamoja across other investment-prone regions in Uganda.
- Invest in Legal Awareness Campaigns; Fund sustained legal education programs targeting rural populations to increase their capacity to defend their land rights.
Dr. Auma highlighted instances where preventive approaches yielded tangible results: In Moroto’s Tapac Sub-county, a cement company engaged communities and CSOs to document land rights holders and compensate them prior to renewing its mining lease in 2023.
In Dokolo District, disputes over 200 hectares of Awer Forest Reserve were resolved through dialogue between community members, investors, and local government officials.
In Acholi’s Nwoya District, complaints of environmental pollution from the Bukoona Agro-Processing Factory prompted negotiations that improved community representation in project oversight.
Mr. Akol Ceaser, District Speaker of Moroto, noted: “Communities are often asked to form groups, but bureaucratic hurdles and state suppression hinder their efforts. It’s critical to dismantle these barriers and empower people to defend their land.”
Micheal Anguria, Senior Assistant Secretary of Olio Sub-county, credited LEMU’s interventions with reducing land conflicts and wetland encroachment:
“Preventive legal empowerment has shifted how we handle disputes. Communities are more informed, and violence has reduced significantly.”
Florence Agwang of the Uganda National Council for Science and Technology added: “This research aligns with the National Development Plan by strengthening participatory land governance and promoting science-driven, rights-based policy reforms.”
LEMU’s report underscores that land-based investments, while promising economic transformation, pose grave risks to rural communities if unregulated.
Preventive legal empowerment offers a sustainable, proactive model for balancing investment with social justice.
“Uganda must reimagine land governance to protect its most vulnerable citizens,” Dr. Auma concluded.
“These 17 recommendations provide a roadmap for equitable, transparent, and rights-based management of land-based investments.”
With land increasingly at the centre of Uganda’s development agenda, implementing these recommendations could mark a turning point for inclusive growth, community resilience, and justice in land governance.
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