Govt suspends special certificates of title over land fraud concerns

What the report says

Uganda’s Ministry of Lands has suspended routine issuance of Special Certificates of Title for three months as it moves to address complaints of double titling, fraud and manipulation in land succession matters. The announcement was made by Lands Minister Judith Nabakooba on Wednesday, August 26, 2026, and applies to the Office of Titles, which issues replacement title documents when originals are lost, destroyed or unusable.

According to Nile Post, the ministry said it had received complaints from landowners, banks, traditional institutions, administrators and beneficiaries of estates. Concerns included overlapping interests, false statutory declarations, and cases where replacement titles may have been issued even though original duplicate certificates still existed. The minister said the pause is meant to give officials time to review the process and investigate reported abuses.

The ministry stressed that the measure does not end the legal right to replace genuinely lost or destroyed titles. Instead, it is intended to strengthen verification, due diligence and public confidence in the land register, which is important to courts, lenders, investors and buyers. The review will involve investigative agencies and professional bodies such as the Uganda Law Society and Uganda Bankers Association.

Nabakooba said officials found responsible for misconduct could face disciplinary action, while people who knowingly provided false information may be referred to investigators. She also said the government wants to correct cases where innocent landowners may have been affected by irregular issuance.