Over 100 Families Face Eviction as Catholic Church Moves To Redevelop Land
MUKONO, Uganda — More than 100 families in the capital city of Kampala are at risk of eviction following the Catholic Church in Uganda’s decision to redevelop its prime urban property.
The affected residents occupy a plot in Kyadondo, West Buganda, under a 49-year lease granted on Sept. 1, 1972, which expired on Aug. 31, 2021. Following the lease’s expiration, the Kampala Archdiocese Land Board formally told occupants to vacate the Nsambya Housing Estate by this coming April 30, to pave the way for what the church describes as a modern estate redevelopment project.
In a letter dated Dec. 30, 2025, the Registered Trustees of Kampala Archdiocese notified the families to hand over vacant possession of the property. The letter, signed by the Archdiocese Land Board Chairperson Dr. Lawrence Kyazze, thanked the tenants for their cooperation during the 49-year lease period but emphasized that the lease had expired and would not be renewed.
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The directive was reinforced by a public notice published on Feb. 16, titled “Final Reminder to All Former Lessees to Vacate the Nsambya Housing Estate.” In the notice, the church warned that anyone remaining on the property after April 30 would be considered to be in unlawful possession and could face legal action.
“The Archdiocese will not be responsible for any property remaining on the premises after the deadline,” the notice read. “To facilitate the orderly handover of the respective property, all occupants are required to liaise with the Registered Trustees of Kampala Archdiocese. Failure to vacate will attract legal consequences at the occupants’ own cost and risk.”
However, the affected families have protested the eviction orders, arguing that the church should not evict them without addressing their concerns. Some have requested a renewal of their leases or assistance with relocation, while others have asked to be accommodated within the redevelopment plan.
The church, meanwhile, maintains that its contractual obligation with the former leaseholders has ended and that they must vacate the premises.
The Catholic Church is among Uganda’s largest landowners, having accumulated vast tracts of land since the arrival of the Catholic White Fathers (now known as the Missionaries of Africa) in 1879, following an invitation by the then-King of Buganda.
The church acquired land from local kings and chiefs to build churches, schools, hospitals and other development projects. Over time, it also leased portions of its land to individuals for development. As demand for land in Kampala and in other parts of Uganda has grown, the church has increasingly repossessed formerly leased land to position it for strategic redevelopment, a move that has not been without resistance from former leaseholders.
In the case of Nsambya Housing Estate, the looming evictions have sparked public concern, with residents petitioning the Catholic Archbishop of Kampala and the government for intervention. Through their lawyers, Silicon Advocates, the families on February 11, 2026, petitioned Archbishop Paul Ssemogerere to intervene and halt the pending eviction.
In the petition, the families appealed for mercy, dialogue, and mediation, stating that many of them have spent their entire lives at the estate and have no alternative residences. They also said they had previously sought engagement with the Archdiocese Land Board but received no response.
“Instead, officials of the Land Board issued a heartless, backdated eviction notice on Dec. 30, before beginning to deliver eviction notices to the various premises on Jan. 10, 2026,” the petition read, describing the church’s actions as being “in bad faith.”
The petitioners argued that the eviction move undermines and damages the Catholic Church’s reputation among its followers in Uganda and abroad.
In an earlier appeal to the government, the families asked for a halt to the evictions and called for dialogue between the two parties. They cited constitutional protections against arbitrary re-entry under Articles 26 and 237 of the Constitution, as well as provisions of the Land Act. Government officials, led by the state minister for Lands, Sam Mayanja, have since intervened.
In a meeting convened at Nsambya Housing Estate on Feb. 19, Mayanja issued a directive stopping the Catholic Church from evicting the families until an agreement is reached. “Until the land matter is resolved, there will be no eviction,” the minister, citing executive powers, said. “The eviction deadline of April 30, 2026, stands vacated indefinitely.”
He instructed the office of the area Resident City Commissioner (RCC) to provide special security to the occupants until further notice. The minister said it was unacceptable to evict more than 100 families who had leased and developed the prime property for 49 years.
Before the minister’s pronouncement, the chairperson of the Nsambya Estate House Owners’ Association, Paul Byoma, said the church had previously assured them that they would not be abruptly evicted upon expiry of their leases. According to Byoma, they were meant to be incorporated into the redevelopment plan. One option now available to the church is to seek legal redress. If it succeeds, the affected families could face eviction without compensation.
Reacting to the minister’s directive, Rev. Fr. Dr. Mark Richard Ssajjabbi, Chief Executive Officer of the Kampala Archdiocese Land Board, told reporters that the affected families had been notified as early as 2014 that their leases would expire and would not be renewed. He maintained that the church remains firm in its decision to repossess the estate for redevelopment.
Land disputes between religious institutions and tenants are not new in Uganda. Nearly every major denomination, including Catholics, Pentecostals, and Muslims, has been involved in land wrangles in various parts of the country.
Many of these disputes pitting the religious institution against tenants have attracted government intervention, often resulting in temporary directives halting evictions without providing lasting solutions.
Ssajjabbi said residents had been notified twice over the years that the archdiocese itnended to “demolish those houses and put up new houses that will accommodate a lot more people.”
John Semakula, an award-winning journalist and alumnus of the Poynter Institute, is based in Mukono, Uganda.