By Wakibi Iddi
KAMPALA: The Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development has lifted the suspension on issuing special certificates of title and introduced tighter safeguards to protect landowners against fraudulent applications.
Announcing the changes at the Uganda Media Centre on 20 October 2026, Lands Minister Judith Nabakooba said the revised guidelines would strengthen verification, public notification and accountability before replacement titles are issued.
The ministry suspended issuance on 14 August following complaints that the process was being abused, putting legitimate property interests at risk.
Special certificates of title replace duplicate certificates that have been lost, destroyed or rendered illegible. The revised guidelines establish a standardised process for handling applications and giving people with an interest in the land an opportunity to object.
“The process shall provide adequate notice to persons who may have or otherwise claim an interest in the land,” Nabakooba said.
Public notices are intended to alert potentially affected parties to pending applications, allowing them to raise concerns before a replacement title is issued.
The guidelines cover lost, destroyed or obliterated duplicate certificates, court-directed issuance of special certificates, and applications by administrators or executors managing deceased persons’ estates.
Nabakooba said the procedures must uphold natural justice by giving affected parties a reasonable opportunity to be heard.
“Persons who may be affected shall be given a reasonable opportunity to be heard, consistent with the applicable laws of Uganda,” she said.
The framework draws on the Constitution, the Registration of Titles Act, the Land Act and other applicable laws.
Section 69 of the Registration of Titles Act provides for issuing a special certificate where a duplicate certificate has been lost, destroyed or obliterated, subject to the applicable legal requirements.
Nabakooba said government surveyors would be used in the process to strengthen accountability for verification reports. These include district staff surveyors and surveyors from the ministry.
The revised guidelines also require significant steps in processing applications to be documented, with records retained in both physical and electronic formats. This is intended to make applications and decisions easier to trace and scrutinise.
Nabakooba said previously issued special certificates would not automatically be subjected to the new guidelines. However, people with concerns about those certificates could petition the ministry for investigation.
The ministry plans further consultations with stakeholders before translating the guidelines into formal regulations under the Registration of Titles Act.
“As we lift the suspension, we are going to undertake wider consultations again with all relevant stakeholders, because we want to translate the guidelines into regulations,” Nabakooba said.
She added that the consultations would help strengthen the framework and could extend regulatory provisions beyond applications for special certificates of title.