What I learned while buying farm land in Buganda

 Land in Uganda is very tricky and you need to be "sharp" while making the purchase. You need to do background check. Even though God had connected me to the real land owner without brokers as mentioned in my previous blog, "how I acquired farm land", God expects me to do the check ups before making payments. If you are buying the land with a land title, it is very easy to go to the responsible ministry of Lands and check the database. I have not been in this so I can't say much about it. However, I have had opportunity of purchasing land that belongs to Buganda Kingdom locally known as "Kabaka's land". Here you mainly do a write-up in form of agreement indicating that the land owner has not been forced to sell off the land and there are should be witnesses. 

In this case, I made a surprise visit back to the village and I walked in the neighborhood. I passed by a certain homestead. I was lucky that I found there an elderly woman who was good at talking as if we knew each other for long. She deserves to get a TikTok channel. She talked and talked and talked until I had to stop her to introduce myself. When the husband showed up, she introduced me as one of clanmates. He immediately treated me with honor as an in-law! I kept on watching! Finally, I told her that I am looking for farm land in that village. She immediately called her brother-in-law to find out if the land at so and so's place had been sold out. Fortunately, she mentioned the name of the grandmother of the seller who I had met earlier that week. The brother-in-law came and told the land price and the motive for selling the land. 

While buying land in Uganda being for constructing a house or farming or setting up a factory, it is always good to know the motive of the seller. This helps you to know your negotiation power over the seller. If the person is selling at leisure, it will be hard to reduce on the price. However, if the person is going through a pressing problem, the buyer has an advantage of negotiating and stating the amount for the first deposit. Through this family, I learned that the seller was given his inheritance by the grandmother but his uncles were not happy with his gift. So he had been advised to sell the land immediately and go to a far village where he can buy his own property without strings attached. He had already identified the land but he needed quick cash to make a deposit the other side. This was a good indicator for dealing with a motivated seller. I had bigger advantage and I could pay as per agreeable terms. I made more confirmation by buying food at a local food joint where the locals were taking beers and having a village talk. I heard of someone saying that there is a rich man, a general from Uganda's army who had brought money to pay that land but the mutaka refused the money and he stated that some lady had already made a deposit. I was motivated to proceed with the purchase.

Additionally, I needed to confirm the local authorities especially the village chairperson, defense and secretary. These are the people who sign against the agreement on behalf of the government and the mutaka plays the part of Buganda kingdom. However, there are some cases where the mutaka is left out. It is important to verify this information and make sure that the stamps and all signatories are authentic. I had learned all these while working as a real estate broker on completing studies after failing to get a job. I could witness people crying that someone conned them to be the chairperson and all their hard earned savings were stolen. I used my previous experience to do more background check-up. In other words, there is no experience in life that is not relevant. 

We finally met to make the payment whereby I was the only person on my side and the village people. This was very risky to be alone! There were family reasons that made me do this but I also believed that God wanted to make this an adventure and separate me from my clan family members who had exploited me. I also had few friends as most of them had disappeared when I went bankrupt. I trusted in my guts and in my God to make the payment. I briefly shared it with my pastor and he was worried of me. He suggested that I go with his lawyer. I tried contacting the lawyer and she was not sure if she wants to deal in kibanja agreements. Most elite people prefer dealing in land titled properties. So I was not offended by her response. I made up my mind and made my first deposit amidst all the strangers. I knew that my grandfather Abraham had gone through the same while purchasing the land in Cannan to burry his wife Sarah. I completed the payment in four installments and finally got the ownership under that mutaka. 

The narrator in this video uses Luganda language and she is mainly describing the key content of the Kibanja Land Agreement document. {Disclaimer: This video link is shared for example purposes. We are not affiliated to the video publisher.} 

I learned many things. One of them was gaining trust from the seller, he would contact me every now and then if I took sometime not going to visit the farm land. I also learned that while making the kibanja agreement, it needed to state that "I have bought everything including whatever is being grown there". The grandmother of the seller kept on encroaching my land, harvesting food, coffee, cutting down trees, digging out cassava e.t.c. until we addressed the issue to the chairman. We agreed that they needed to stop once I have completed the payment but I was also given an opportunity to start growing some short-termed crops such as maize and beans as I complete my payment. This was to my advantage, I still needed to validation of the land before completing the payment. I started showing up in the garden and planting maize. That's when I learned of problems and issues with neighbors and walk ways. We always settled our cases before the mutaka and the chairman. Within the period of nine months, I completed the payment even after establishing the banana plantation. 

I also learned that payments should be in cash as the seller had made agreements with the mutaka and the LC committee to get their commission. One time, I made a bank deposit as I was working from a far district. On returning to the village, I had issues and they were offended. On completing the payment, we noted that 3 trees were cut down by the grandmother. I asked for compensation. The seller was so pissed as he claimed that it was not his responsibility the old woman made that mistake. I was surprised how the old woman, who once told me that instead of selling me her cassava, she rather cuts it into pieces. She humbly called me and pleaded for forgiveness and offered two mango trees in her remaining land in return of the money that was deducted. I was touched by her intercession prayer and I requested her to be patient as I need to discuss the issue with my family back home. She waited until I gave her my feedback. The grandson was so annoyed that he even did not want to sign the agreement. The money was refunded but I didn't take her offer of mangoes. As an intercessor, I learned that we can interced for people who are still arrogant and proud and God forgives them and restores them like how Lot was restored after the intercession prayers of Abraham!

Have you ever bought land in Buganda, how was your experience? Please share with us in the comment box below.