Communities Push Government to Resolve Rwenzori Land Disputes

What the report says

Communities in Uganda’s Rwenzori sub-region have petitioned Lands Minister Harriet Ntabazi, asking the government to step in over long-running land disputes they say are hurting residents and their livelihoods. According to Nile Post, the appeal was made as Land Awareness Week 2026 came to a close, with community representatives pressing for quicker action on unresolved conflicts tied to land ownership, access and use.

The minister received the petitions and told the communities the government would follow up on the concerns and work toward solutions. Nile Post reported that Ntabazi said she was hopeful that many of the issues could be addressed soon, and that a large share of the complaints raised might be resolved in the near term.

Ntabazi also called on civil society organisations to do more to educate people about land rights, and urged magistrates and judges handling land cases to treat them with urgency. She said faster handling of such disputes is important to prevent tensions from growing and to improve access to justice for affected residents.

The report places the appeal in a wider pattern of land conflict in the Rwenzori area, where communities have repeatedly sought stronger government intervention. More broadly, land disputes remain a common source of friction in parts of Uganda, often involving questions of ownership, boundary boundaries and delayed court processes.