Namata is a 72-year-old widow who wanted to recover land which was bought by her late husband. Her husband passed on in 1986, three years after buying a piece of land. In 2009 she discovered Tom was utilizing part of the land measuring approximately 1 ½ acres. He had planted eucalyptus trees, mango and avocado trees and was also cultivating food crops. This didn’t sit well with her since her consent had not been sought and she approached Tom to resolve the issue but he didn’t seem ready or willing to vacate the land.
The parties went through the Local Council courts, RDC’s office and Family and Child Protection Unit of Mubende Central Police Station (CPS) but the matter was never resolved. The dispute went on for fourteen (14) years. Finally, last year, Mubende CPS referred the matter to JCU Mubende for legal assistance. One of the JCU advocates conducted both an office and locus mediation to teach the parties about property rights and they were able to come to an amicable resolution of the dispute.
Tom and Namata were able to reach a compromise of equally dividing the land and Tom agreed to compensate Namata UGX 15 million in November 2021 for the share he had been utilizing and a Memorandum of Understanding was signed. She was appreciative and said, “Nebaza ekitongole kino okutulwanirira, mukama abawe kyemusinga okwagala. Muwala Looya kati oba muzzukulu naye nsaba katonda akulinyise amadala mu byonna byokola” which means “I thank this organisation for fighting for us, may God grant you your heart’s desires.”
Using the UGX 15 million received, Namata was able to get another piece of land in the village where she constructed a house for her family. Tom was also appreciative of JCU services because it helped them peacefully and quickly resolve a dispute which had dragged on for several years.