The CAMPAIGN FOR PRO-POOR, EFFECTIVE AND INCLUSIVE LAND REFORMS IN UGANDA is undertaken by a consortium of Legal Aid Service Providers Network (LASPNET), ActionAid Uganda (AAU) and Participatory Ecological Land Use Management (PELUM) Uganda taking into consideration their complementary technical competencies and experience in land rights work.

The Lead Applicant is Legal Aid Service Providers Network (LASPNET), a Non-Government Organisation of 52 members established in 2004 and spread in 70 Districts across Uganda. The network was established to provide a collaborative framework and strategic linkages for Legal Aid Service Providers (LASPs) to harness, strengthen and sustain synergies to complement Government of Uganda’s efforts to enhance access to justice. The Network has a Strategic Plan 2015-2020 with a vision of a free and just society and mission statement to provide a platform for effective networking and partnership to enhance legal aid service delivery and access to justice for the most vulnerable and marginalised people.

The network has also been at the forefront with Justice Law and Order Sector (JLOS) in advocating for the National Legal Aid Policy (NLAP) and other pro-poor laws such as the Children’s Amendment Act; coordination of provision of legal aid and access to justice, promotion of human rights and rule of law. In addition, LASPNET alongside other CSO’s has worked to influence reforms in the land sector such as through convening policymakers to discuss land-related policy and legal framework.

The role of LASPNET as the lead Applicant is overall coordination of the campaign against the Constitutional Amendment of Article 26, accountability for the funding and in addition has the following technical responsibility: To generate evidence on policy, legal and institutional frameworks affecting land rights for marginalised communities by conducting research on the situation analysis utilising scholars and practitioners as well as review of reports and other related information on land governance, Launch of the research, Provide legal rapid response to the CSOs and activists.

 ActionAid Uganda (AAU) is a Ugandan national development organisation, registered with the NGO Bureau, IT works in 45 districts with 12 field offices grouped under five clusters namely Gulu, Nebbi, Katakwi, Kapchorwa and Pallisa. Its current Strategy is focused on `Strengthening Struggles for Social Justice 2018 -2022′ which lays out a renewed commitment to strengthening civic engagement at all levels. This project will contribute to strategic objective three of our strategy on strengthening citizens’ actions to deepen democracy and hold the state, corporations and political leaders accountable.

The role of AAU broadly is to foster collective action of marginalised communities and their agencies towards influencing pro-poor land reforms at local and national level by taking lead on the strategic engagement with Members of Parliament (MPs) on land governance and reforms at national and local level and organising national level dialogue on the land campaign issues.

Participatory Ecological Land Use Management (PELUM) Uganda is a Non-Government Organisation membership (NGOs) with over 57 members strong network of like-minded operating organisations in over 98 districts of Uganda, reaching approximately 3,000,000 smallholder farmers, 65% of whom are women. PELUM has been working in Uganda since 1995 to improve the livelihoods of small-scale farmers and the sustainability of rural communities through the fostering of ecological land use management. It works to promote agricultural systems that address food security, promote resilience to climate change, conserve agricultural biodiversity, enhance incomes of farmers, ensure environmental sustainability, and operate in an enabling policy environment. We also uniquely reach the regional, national and local levels with our interventions.

PELUM Uganda is a national network that works through empowering and strengthening the capacities of the member organisations who then work directly with the smallholder farmers. It focuses on collaborative and evidence-based advocacy to influence policy processes while working with other strategic partners land rights advocacy.

The role of PELUM in the campaign is taking hold of grassroots meetings with marginalised groups and social movements to raise awareness on land rights, conducting regional consultative meetings with the marginalised communities on key issues affecting enjoyment of their land rights as well as to inform MP engagement and taking lead on building capacity of selected personalities/journalists to agenda setting on issues on land.

Working in a consortium with Action Aid, PELUM, and LASPNET, the partners will scale up partnerships and collaborations with like-minded state and non-state stakeholders to strengthen linkages, efficiency and effective campaign against the constitutional amendment of Article 26. In their coordination role, the partners will utilise the bottom up approach advocacy to influence policy and practice change and also leverage membership to engage at grassroots level in order to enhance the campaign for pro-poor, effective and inclusive land reforms in Uganda to improve access to justice and protection of human rights for the poor, vulnerable and marginalised.

The consortium of the Legal Aid Service Providers Network (LASPNET), Participatory Ecological Land Use Management (PELUM Uganda) and ActionAid Uganda with support from Voice under the Sudden Opportunity grant was awarded a grant effective 1st August, 2018 to implement the ‘Campaign for pro poor land reforms and inclusive land reforms in Uganda’ with the particular focus to respond to the proposed amendment to Article 26 of the Constitution of Uganda to strengthen and amplify public resistance to the proposed amendment. 

The “Campaign for pro-poor, effective and inclusive land reforms in Uganda” was initially developed as a counter campaign against the amendment of Article 26 through “Constitutional (Amendment) Bill No. 13/2017. The bill required parliament to amend Article 26 of the 1995 Constitution to empower government to compulsorily acquire and occupy land from citizens prior to compensation. 

The project implementation took effect on 1st August, 2018 and shortly after the consortium had commenced the implementation of the planned activities, the bill to amend Article 26 of the Constitution 1995 was withdrawn citing “pending further consultations.” This was mainly due to pressure from the CSOs and the general public who in unison with a big majority of the Members of Parliament whose views were cited in the Report by the Committee on Legal and Parliamentary Affairs on the bill led to the withdrawal of the bill on the 4th of September 2018. 

Therefore, and following the change in context, on 12th October 2018, the consortium members held a meeting with the Voice team of Oxfam and resolved that it was important to rethink the strategy and align the project intervention to fit into the changing context of the project initially anticipated scope.  In agreement that there was need to amend the focus of the project, to the land acquisition act amendment tentatively considered to be “Land Acquisition Bill” and in view of the rampant evictions and land acquisition process; the project name changed to; “My Land interest, my survival: Joining efforts against anti-people legislations and land reforms” there by focusing on ensuring that the citizens interests are catered for and the principles of fair, adequate, prompt and prior compensation under Article 26 of the Constitution are upheld in the proposed Land Acquisition Bill and curbing the illegal land evictions which were a larger menace at the time. 

Subsequently, after the withdrawal of the Constitution Amendment Bill no. 13/2017, the government proceeded to draft the Land Acquisition Bill (LAB) 2018 which was a new law to repeal the current Land Acquisition Act 1965 whose section 7 was previously outlawed in the Ashman Irumba and Peter Magelah vs UNRA court case (Petition No. 40 of 2012 and ruled on December 2015). The proposed law being similar in content as well as driving the similar agenda as the withdrawn bill no. 13/2017 required as much attention as the former and this was tackled from its inception. 

With re-aligned project focus, the consortium with the consultations from the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development of the Land Acquisition Bill (2018). This was handled along the Land acquisition, Resettlement and Rehabilitation Policy (LARRP) in form of a joint consultation. 

The Consortium’s presence and influence started at this stage in ensuring that the citizens’ views are properly captured in the Bill with, collaboration with the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development was entered at the level of the Second regional consultation workshop on the LARRP and the LAB for stakeholders of Karamoja on 14th and 15th November 2018. 

One of the key activities implemented by the consortium under this project was the situational Analysis on compulsory land acquisition management in Uganda. A report was compiled and widely disseminated to various stakeholders who shed light on the contentious issues concerning land grabbing and its effects on the population. 

Under the above interventions, the consortium mobilized and led the other CSOs to issue a position paper emphasizing that the LARRP and the LAB should never depart from the principles of Fair, Adequate, Prompt and Prior Compensation and this was informed by the findings from the situational Analysis on compulsory land acquisition management in Uganda.   The consortium conducted consultations on the LAB, supported media reporting on land rights issues to send a message to the concerned stakeholders to take action. Legal Rapid response to the land rights activities and victims of illegal land evictions is still on going for purposes of securing the liberties of the citizens who stand up for their rights by the consortium members.  

To date and following the consortium efforts and campaigns against the anti-people legislations and land reforms have not come to light due to the awareness and conscientization of the masses regarding their land rights which has enabled them to have a Voice to stand against, assess the ill motives of government on land legislations and reforms. LASPNET has innovated and continues to offer legal rapid response and an active Toll free of 0800-100155 through its call centre where lawyers are available to respond to the needs of the clients on land-related matters among other human rights issues.