Land Tenure In Braganda Essay

Uganda in general and Buganda in particular, land is considered as a factor of production, is a crucial resource for transformation through business ventures and provision of public utilities, for agricultural production, housing and construction, industrialization and binds social and spiritual relations within and across generations. However, West mentions that the Ganda economy heavily depends upon agriculture, forestry and fishing. Land is the greatest source of subsistence and wealth that serves as a socio-economic asset. It is also important to note that land tenure refers to the manner in which land is owned, accessed, used and disposed of within a community. The land tenure systems of mailo, freehold, leasehold and crown land ownership that

During this period, Buganda had plenty of land that even specific ownership of one part rather than another was still generally unnecessary because whether the Bataka, Bakungu or Bantongole made little difference to the Bakopi. In Buganda region, the Kabaka was the Ssabataka, who held land on behalf of and in trust for the people. If the Baganda were asked who owned land the answer was usually the King because he was the undisputed master. The King was solely responsible for allocating land to clans according to norms and practices. It also known that Kabaka used to delegate his authority as a way of exercising wide powers of land allocation that could stem from the prerogative of his superior office. Likewise, the chiefs (bami) whether they were Bataka, Bukungu or Batongole, enjoyed similar powers of distributing land which also rose their possession of their paternal sovereignty rather than being articulates right of property. It is mentioned that there existed least four recognized categories of rights of control over land which include Obutaka rights of clans over land, Obutongole rights of the Kabaka and the Chiefs, Obwesengeze rights of individual hereditary rights and Ebibanja as peasant rights