“Land is not vegetable that is bought from unknown seller by the road side, lands are valuable properties and buyers are expected to make thorough investigations; not only of the land, but also of the seller before purchase.” Remarked OKELLO JA (as then he was) in Sir John Bageire versus Ausi Matovu[1].

The above statement by the learned Justice was basically making a case for due diligence as a prerequisite before purchase of land considering the numerous prevailing cases of fraud. Every step must be carefully taken to spot and avoid fraud and illegalities, so to say have a plan to safely buy land and another to protect the purchased land.

It is therefore important to consider the following while buying land in Uganda;

Engage registered surveyors to survey the land. As part of due diligence, surveyors are needed to amongst others establish the specific measurements and boundaries of the land. They enable you to confirm whether the measurements of the land reflected on the certificate of title tally with the physical measurements of the Land. This has to be done by a duly registered surveyor because any report made by an unregistered survey is of no legal value and should any issues arise that may require you to go to court, the survey report made by an unregistered surveyor will not be admissible in court as elucidated under section 19(3) of the Surveyor Registrations Act[2]  and the case of Jennifer Nsubuga Versus Micheal Mukundane and Anor[3], where Court disregarded a survey report that the appellant sought to rely on in evidence because it was authored by a non-licensed surveyor.

 Always confirm ownership of land before purchase, Section 59 of the Registration of Titles Act[4]provides that a certificate of Title is conclusive proof of ownership of land reflected in the Title and shall not be impeached except in cases of fraud as enunciated in section 64(1) of the same Act. This therefore means that a prospective buyer must conduct a Title search at the lands registry to ascertain in whose names the title of the land he or intends to buy is.

As regards Kibanja Land holding on mailo land, ownership is demonstrated by proof of consent by the landlord or mailo owner for the occupation of his or her land or proof of succession to Kibanja holding in accordance with applicable customary practices. Ref to the case of Jennifer Nsubuga Versus Micheal Mukundane and Anor, (supra) where court enunciated that failure to demonstrate consent of a mailo land owner means failure to demonstrate ownership, court went further and stated that a Kibanja holder qualifies as a Kibanja holder on a mailo land if he or she can demonstrate succession or inheritance from parents or grandparents persons who by consent of the mailo land owner entered the land as Kibanja holders.

Additionally for land customarily owned by any person, family or community, proof of ownership can be made by production of a certificate of customary ownership.

If you are dealing in Matrimonial Property or family property, ensure consent of either spouse is obtained, this consent must be obtained after the spouse has received independent advice from a third party who isn’t a party to the transaction, it is advisable to avoid transacting in matrimonial property without the consent of a spouse, otherwise the whole transaction will be  void ab-nitio (from the start) pursuant to Section 39 of the Land (Amendment) Act.

Additionally, when dealing with Estate Property, Section 180 of the Succession Act[5]  is to the effect that the executor or administrator, as the case may be, of a deceased person is his or her legal representative for all purposes and all the property of the deceased person vests in him or her as such. It is therefore imperative to ascertain the authenticity of the letters of Administration or letters of probate which will be presented to you.  This can be done through checking the court records of the court that granted the letters of administration / probate.

Further, as per the Succession (Amendment) Act[6] , all the beneficiaries to an estate have to consent to any dealings in the estate. This is intended to deter the practice of holders of letters of administration / probate disposing off parts of the estate without consulting the beneficiaries of the estate.

Avoid paying cash. In order to leave a better paper trail, pay via the bank and keep the bank deposit slip. In case disputes arise regarding the transaction, the copies of the bank slips or electronically generated payment slips can be easily tendered in court as proof of payment.

Execute a clear land sale agreement. For every Land you buy, execute  a new land sale agreement. Avoid just copying and pasting the land sale agreement you executed while buying some other land. Each land transaction comes with its specifics depending on the tenure of the land being bought. Engage a Lawyer to draft for you a proper land sale agreement. While signing on the land sale agreement, you can record a video of the entire exercise. After executing the Land sale agreement, endeavor to immediately transfer the land title into your names.

In conclusion therefore, before purchasing any Land, engage a registered surveyor, confirm ownership of the land by conducting a search at the lands registry, if you are buying family land/matrimonial property or estate property, ensure that there is consent from the other spouse and the beneficiaries, and most importantly execute a clear Land sale agreement drafted by a Lawyer. Involve professionals in all steps of due diligence.

[1] CACA No. 7 of 1996

[2] Cap. 275

[3]  Civil Appeal No. 208/2018 [2023]

[4] Cap. 230

[5] Cap 162

[6] 2022