SUCCESS STORY: Hoima Centre protects woman's property rights - Justice Centres Uganda

SUCCESS STORY: Hoima Centre protects woman’s property rights

Pictured is our client Cindy (not real name) who was helped by JCU Hoima Centre to recover 7.5 acres of land. Cindy cohabited with Andrew (not real name) and the two were blessed with one child. Upon conceiving the second child, Andrew abandoned Cindy and left for another woman. With one child and heavily pregnant without support, Cindy decided to move back to her parent’s home. While there, she engaged in farming and sold the proceeds to support herself and the two children.

Through hard work, Cindy purchased ten (10) acres of land in 2002 that was to be used to cultivate more crops for sale. In 2008, Andrew returned and occupied the land on the basis that he was the father of her children and therefore had rights to Cindy’s property. Cindy made efforts to evict Andrew from her land by filing cases in the LC I court in 2008 and LC II & III courts in 2009 but all in vain. Even though the courts ruled in her favor, Andrew still refused to vacate the land and worse still went ahead to sell off two (2) acres of Cindy’s land.

 

This pushed Cindy to her breaking point and she hurriedly approached our Hoima Centre to file a complaint against her ex-partner on 15th November 2018. The Centre took on her case and mediation was conducted between both parties on 16th January 2019. Andrew was sensitized on property rights and informed that Cindy was the legal and rightful owner of the land he had encroached on. The mediation was a success and Cindy offered Andrew 80/40 yards for him to continue cultivating and she recovered 7.5 acres of her land.

 

Andrew was asked not to encroach on Cindy’s land which he respected. The two were in agreement with the decision and an MoU was signed. On 16th June 2020, our Hoima team went back to make a follow up and found Cindy happily utilizing her land to grow crops for sale. This is how she has managed to support herself and her two children.

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