Lugbara Kari demands return of Giligili land for Palace as leaders rally to protect customary land
The Lugbara Kari leaders during press briefing, comprising the Speaker, Rev. Yiki (L), the deputy Prime Minister, Prof. Ngaka (C) and the Clerk to Council (R)
ARUA CITY – Leaders of the Lugbara Kari Cultural Institution have intensified their campaign for the return of Giligili land, currently occupied by a government demonstration farm, to enable the construction of the institution’s palace and headquarters.
The renewed appeal was made on Tuesday during a press briefing on the progress of key development projects, including plans to establish the long-awaited palace.
Addressing journalists, the Deputy Prime Minister of Lugbara Kari, Prof. Willy Ngaka, said acquiring the Giligili land is central to strengthening the cultural institution and giving it a permanent home.
He said the leadership has agreed on a unified platform to mobilize resources for the palace once the land is returned. The proposal will also be tabled at an upcoming global meeting of Lugbara people to attract support from the diaspora and other well-wishers.
“Our official position is we have land in Giligili, and that is where our palace is supposed to be. But that land currently was taken by the government. They are using it as a demonstration farm. When His Excellency was here, one of the things I mentioned to him was that the Giligili land is ours,” Prof. Ngaka said.
“Your Excellency, return our land. We want to build our headquarters there. But also, you, as a government, build that palace for us. For now, we have no official headquarters. We are temporarily located here at the Social Centre.”
According to Prof. Ngaka, a permanent palace and headquarters would not only provide office space for the institution but also serve as a symbol of the Lugbara people’s identity, unity and cultural heritage.
The call comes at a time when cultural institutions across Uganda are taking a more active role in preserving traditions and promoting community development.
Uganda officially recognizes dozens of gazetted cultural institutions, including kingdoms, chiefdoms and cultural leaders, under the Constitution and the Institution of Traditional or Cultural Leaders Act, which restored traditional institutions while barring them from partisan politics.
Meanwhile, Dr. Christopher Yiki Agatre, the Speaker of the Lugbara Kari Parliament (Langa), shifted attention to the protection of customary land.
He said land remains the foundation of the Lugbara community’s identity and should never be treated as a commodity that can easily be lost.
“Lugbara has land, which is one of the factors of production. Land must not be sold anyhow,” Dr. Agatre said.
Dr. Agatre revealed that Lugbara Kari has developed a customary land policy to guide communities on the ownership, use and protection of ancestral land.
“We are proud to say that Lugbara Kari has developed a land policy, and that land policy has customary land tenure systems, which government now allows for a title, and this is what is happening in Terego, especially in Uriama sub-county, that is being popularised,” he said.
He further added: “We request the MPs and the people in the diaspora who have land here to popularise that land policy. Land is an asset; land cannot just be sold just like anything, and it must be protected for the future generation.”
According to the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development under the National Land Policy, more than 70 percent of Uganda’s land is held under customary tenure.
The policy encourages communities to document and protect customary land rights while promoting responsible land management to reduce conflicts and safeguard family inheritance.