Land Grabs In Uganda Sparks Razing Of Churches And Mosques
MUKONO, Uganda — The rise in land disputes involving religious institutions in Uganda has triggered a trend of demolishing of churches and mosques throughout the country, raising religious freedom concerns over safety regarding places of worship.
Since 2020, several houses of worship have been destroyed in Kampala and its surrounding areas. In fact, land grabbers — in some cases with help from religious leaders — exploit legal loopholes to obtain eviction orders, which they then use to tear down these places of worship.
Supreme Mufti Sheikh Muhammad Galabuzi urged Muslims to resist collusion with land grabbers who encroach on mosque land before demolishing them, emphasizing that such actions amount to a betrayal of their faith.
“We are aware that some Muslims are being incentivized by land grabbers to unlawfully take land that rightfully belongs to the Muslin community,” he said. “I warn them to stop this habit because their actions are making us lose land which would have been used to put up schools, mosques, and other projects.”
The most recent casualty in the ongoing crisis is Masjid Dar-Imaani in Kisenyi, located in central Kampala, which was demolished on Dec. 12. Real-estate mogul John Bosco Muwonge orchestrated the destruction of the Masjid Dar-Imaani. He claimed ownership of the land on which the mosque was located and maintained that he had secured an eviction order prior to its demolition.
Muwonge said he intends to construct a massive passageway where the mosque once stood. This was the second time in 11 years that the businessman has demolished a mosque on the same tract of land. In December 2013, when the fight over the land first erupted, Muwonge demolished the mosque. Later, a section of Muslims who were dissatisfied with the demolition constructed another mosque on the property.
Muwonge has claimed that he bought the land from the SPIDIQA Foundation, a Muslim organization. However, opponents argue the land was illegally sold.
Last month’s demolition was done by a group of armed youth, accompanied by police officers. When the imam, Jaloud Abdulsalaam Miiro, attempted to intervene and stop the bulldozers, he was assaulted and suffered severe injuries. Following this incident, the country’s Minister of Internal Affairs, Maj. Gen. Kahinda Otafire, directed the Inspector General of Police Abas Byakagaba to investigate the incident.
However, similar to many prior investigations into illegal land evictions across the country and other crimes in Uganda, the minister’s directive is unlikely to yield positive outcomes. Those orchestrating the evictions often possess significant wealth and are well-connected to influential politicians, which enables them to influence and also compromise Police and judicial officers involved in the investigations.
The demolition of places of worship is not new to Ugandans. The issue reached a critical point in 2020 when the 40-year-old St. Peter’s Anglican Church in Kampala was demolished. The destruction occurred on the night of Aug. 9, 2020, when individuals armed with excavators, large axes and hammers invaded the site. The church’s demolition followed a prolonged legal dispute between businessman Dodovico Mwanje and the Anglican Church of Uganda regarding the ownership of the land on which the church and a nursery school operated.
Mwanje claimed the church was unlawfully occupying his property and was refusing to vacate it peacefully, stating he had recently purchased the land from the descendants of the late Evelyn Nacwa. The Anglican Church maintained that Nacwa had donated the land to the institution before her death over 40 years earlier.
The National Environmental Management Authority, a government body responsible for protecting wetlands, has also recently undertaken the demolition of several churches situated in such areas. Last April, NEMA dismantled the Blood of Jesus Ministries International Church located in Seeta, a suburb of Kampala.
The church — belonging to Pastor Joseph Muzaale — had reportedly received prior permission from NEMA for its construction, leaving him astonished when the agency subsequently demolished it. Muzaale criticized the government for what he termed selective justice since it allows industrial activities to continue on wetlands while targeting places of worship for demolition.
Numerous Pentecostal churches and industries in Uganda are situated in wetlands, which are protected areas managed by NEMA. Despite this, while churches are often evicted from these wetlands, industries — significant sources of tax revenue for the government — are frequently spared. In light of concerns regarding churches in wetlands, Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has warned clergy against the allure of constructing in these areas, arguing that wetlands are habitats for reptiles, not humans.
This widespread demolition has also jeopardized the preservation of the only National Mosque in Uganda, formerly known as Gaddafi Mosque — a stunning shilling facility built by the former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in Old Kampala. But businessman Justus Kyabahwa has threatened to evict the mosque after winning a land dispute against the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council, which owned the property.
For now, the national mosque has been spared following Museveni’s interventon. he called the mosque a national asset that could not be seized by an individual due to a land dispute.
Nonetheless, religious leaders are vigilant their house of worship could be next.
The Rev. Dr. Richard Mulindwa, who works as the Anglican Church’s relations manager at Uganda Christian University, said this trend threatens churches and the services they provide to the community.
“The church must pay attention to a clear land management plan by gazetting, registering and putting church land to proper use to guard it against land grabbers,” he said. “If we don’t manage the land very well, the church will disappear soon.”
John Semakula, an award-winning journalist and alumnus of the Poynter Institute, is based in Mukono, Uganda.