Land tenure in Uganda: present day tendencies

Abstract

INTRODUCTION It is now over fifty years since a settlement of the land question in Buganda was made. There were two math re suits of this settlement. In the first place, the- political and usufructuary rights -of the chiefs were converted into a system of freehold tenure now known as the mailo system:1 and in the second place, and subsequently, the rights of the peasant holders living on these estates were defined by law. Both types of rights are thus preserved and protected by legal enactments. In the past fifty years, through the processes of adaptation and adoption, this whole system of land tenure has developed quite rapidly in relation to the- great economic and political changes that have taken place in the country. Some of these changes in the system of land tenure are discussed in the succeeding pages, and particularly the extent to which fragmentation of • holdings has taken place and the rules governing peasant holdings ha been defined. These changes are described against their historical background and in relation to the particular land laws that have been passed. The more important of these enactments are reviewed in the second chapter of this work.