Bbaale County Member of Parliament Hon. Charles Tebandeke has challenged the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development over its decision to suspend the issuance of special titles, arguing that concerns over fraud should be addressed through stronger enforcement of the law rather than suspension of a legal process.
Hon. Tebandeke made the remarks while appearing before the Parliamentary Committee on Lands, where he questioned the legal and administrative basis of suspending special-title issuance as a response to fraudulent practices within the land registration system.
According to Hon. Tebandeke, a special title essentially serves as a duplicate or replacement of an existing registered land title, while the original title and corresponding records remain in the custody of government.
He argued that this arrangement gives the Ministry an opportunity to verify applications by comparing the particulars presented by an applicant with the exact features, descriptions and other details contained in the original title and records held by the land registry.
Hon. Tebandeke told the committee that the verification process should therefore be used to establish whether an application corresponds with the government-held records before a special title is issued.
His concern was whether the existence of fraud within the land administration system, without more, should result in the suspension of a procedure provided for under the applicable legal framework.
“Ministry of Lands failure to fight fraud within the ministry shouldn’t cause them to suspend the provisions of the law,” Hon. Tebandeke told the committee.
He argued that fraudulent practices should instead lead to stronger verification, investigation and enforcement measures targeting the fraudulent transactions or persons responsible, while lawful applications continue to be processed in accordance with the law.
“Ministry should not cause FRAUD to suspend the law but rather apply the LAW to suspend fraud,” he added.
Hon. Tebandeke’s submission puts the focus on the distinction between suspending a legal or administrative process and strengthening the safeguards used to prevent its abuse.
He argued that where the Ministry has access to original land records, the authentication of an application should be based on a careful comparison of the applicant’s information with the records held by government.
The position raised before the committee, however, does not by itself determine whether the Ministry’s suspension is lawful. That question would depend on the relevant provisions of the land laws and regulations, the authority under which the suspension was made, and any applicable administrative directives or judicial decisions.
The committee may therefore have to examine the legal basis for the suspension, the circumstances that led to the Ministry’s decision, and whether existing verification and enforcement mechanisms are adequate to address fraud without unnecessarily restricting legitimate land-registration services.
The discussion also brings into focus the broader challenge of protecting Uganda’s land registration system from fraudulent transactions while ensuring that legitimate landowners and applicants can access services provided for under the law.
For Hon. Tebandeke, the central issue is that the response to fraud should be directed at identifying, preventing and sanctioning fraudulent conduct, rather than allowing the existence of fraud to become a reason for suspending the legal process itself.
