KAMPALA, Uganda — The Anglican Church in Uganda has adopted a series of strategic measures to safeguard its vast tracts of land that are under threat from encroachers.

The church’s initiatives involve venturing into coffee farming to transform unused land into productive agricultural spaces, mass registration of untitled church land, issuing spiritual warnings and pursuing legal action against land grabbers.

The church said the initiatives will safeguard property and contribute to economic growth and social stability — ensuring that church land remains a valuable resource for future generations.

For nearly four decades under President Yoweri Museveni's National Resistance Movement government, land grabbing has remained a significant challenge not only for the other sections of society but also for the church. This issue has led to the displacement of thousands of impoverished Ugandans and even the demolition of churches. In 2020, a renowned land grabber demolished 40-year-old St-Peters Church in Ndeeba, in Kampala, sparking outrage among Christians.

In response, the Anglican Church is now spearheading a campaign to curb this menace, particularly by protecting church-owned land from illegal occupation.

Archbishop Dr. Stephen Kaziimba Mugalu is championing coffee cultivation as a key deterrent against land grabbers. He urged both the church and private landowners to utilize idle land, arguing that once it is put to productive use, it becomes less vulnerable to illegal occupation.

"We must use all available land for coffee farming rather than leaving it to grabbers,” Kaziimba said, adding, “I encourage everyone to cultivate both church and private land to ensure it remains protected.”

The Anglican Church is one of Uganda’s largest landowners, having received much of its property from local chiefs in the 1870s when early missionaries sought property to establish churches, schools and hospitals. However, these vast holdings has made it a target for land grabbers, many of whom are wealthy politicians and businesspeople who exploit corruption to displace rightful occupants. In Uganda, land grabbers primarily target private idle land, using illicit wealth sometimes to buy off land rights and forcibly evict residents. Those displaced often migrate to urban areas, where they end up living in slum areas.

By engaging in coffee farming, the church not only protects its land, but also generates revenue from one of Uganda’s top foreign exchange earner. This additional income could support poverty alleviation efforts, while ensuring long-term land security. Beyond agricultural initiatives, Kaziimba has repeatedly issued spiritual warnings that those seizing church land invite divine retribution to themselves.

“If you steal God’s land, you are fighting Him, and there are serious spiritual consequences,” he cautioned.

The Anglican Church of Uganda has also initiated a nationwide mass registration of its land, with support from the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development. This effort followed a meeting last year between Minister of Lands Judith Nabakooba and the House of Bishops at Lweza Training and Conference Centre. During the meeting, Nabakooba urged the bishops to secure proper land titles to safeguard church property from land grabbers.

“We have received numerous reports of land grabbers and encroachers on church land. In many cases, there is no evidence that the land belongs to the church,” she said. “The only evidence we need is a land title and that is why we are here to support you in the registration process.”

The church praised the ministry for its support of the Anglican Church of Uganda, particularly in the land registration process.

“On behalf of the Anglican Church of Uganda, I thank the government of Uganda especially the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development for supporting us in the land registration with technical expertise and all the relevant literature on the same. We are committed to conducting this exercise in record time,” said Acting Provincial Secretary Balaam Muheebwa.  

Kaziimba has said the main reason why the church may not have land titles for all its lands is that in the past chiefs and Christians who donated property to the church did it out of goodwill. As a result, the church did not see any reason for processing agreements or land titles.

But the church has also gone a step further by hiring private security firms to guard its properties against grabbers. In Mukono Diocese, Bishop Enos Kitto revealed recently that they spend approximately $2,700 each month on security services. This move was prompted by recurrent attacks on church properties, including schools, farms and clergy residences by land grabbers, despite repeated appeals to the government for intervention.

“Despite filing numerous petitions and seeing some arrests, perpetrators are often released quickly, fostering a culture of impunity,” Kitto said.

The Rev. Dr. Richard Mulindwa, the Anglican Church relations manager at Uganda Christian University, told Religion Unplugged that without land, there can’t be a church.

“By adopting a multi-faceted approach — engaging in commercial agriculture, employing security measures, issuing spiritual warnings and pursuing legal action — the Anglican Church of Uganda is taking a firm stand against grabbers,” he said.

Additional reporting by Yasiri J. Kasango       

John Semakula, an award-winning journalist and alumnus of the Poynter Institute, is based in Mukono, Uganda.