200 Acres Lost in the Night: Land Grabbers Carve Up a Ugandan Diocese’s Estate

• Land grabbers have taken over more than 200 acres of Mukono Diocese’s 425.8-acre Nakanyonyi estate
• They subdivide the land into small plots, sell them at night, and buyers build immediately
• Other diocesan properties have shrunk from over 100 acres to under 30
• A priest said Uganda’s laws seem to favour occupants over landlords

More than 200 acres of the 425.8-acre Nakanyonyi Church of Uganda archdeaconry land belonging to Mukono Diocese have been seized by land grabbers operating under the name “Abafakinyi”, Uganda’s Daily Monitor reported on March 25, 2026.

The group uses rapid subdivision, creating plots of 20 by 30 feet or 30 by 30 feet and selling them at night. Buyers then build immediately, presenting the diocese with a fait accompli. After an overnight attack on the fence on March 24, Rev John Musoke reported: “By morning, houses were under construction on 30 acres of land, with some already at wall plate level.”

The diocese says it acquired the land in 1926 from the British government. Other properties have been hit too: Kisowera has shrunk from more than 100 acres to fewer than 30, and Katikamu has dwindled to a plot of 100 by 100 feet. Rev Erisa Walusimbi said: “The laws of Uganda seem to give more power to bibanja holders than landlords,” referring to occupants with customary interests. Daniel Katabira warned that “something must be done”, cautioning that police inaction could provoke violence.

The losses show how quickly large church landholdings can disappear once subdivision and construction begin, and how hard it is to recover land once houses stand on it.

Jamaican churches with large rural or peri-urban holdings face a slower version of the same risk. Squatting on church land has cost some denominations hundreds of acres over decades. Registered titles, fenced and surveyed boundaries, regular inspection and quick action at the first sign of building are the practical defences. Once people have built and moved in, the choices narrow to costly evictions or regularising occupation on the occupants’ terms.

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