Know Your Rights 7: The right to property

The Ugandan Bill of Rights, Chapter 4 of the Constitution of Uganda, details the rights of all Ugandan citizens. Whether you are a person with a disability (PWD) or not, all these rights are yours.

Article 26 of the Constitution of Uganda states that everyone has the right to own property, either alone or with others. Your property cannot be taken away, except when it is needed for public use in a national emergency, or for defense the country, or for the safety of other people, or to protect public morality or public health.

This right means that by law all PWDs can own property whether they are men or women. No one should be able to take the property away from you or deny your right to own property.

This is the comment of a landmine victim. She wanted to return to her home in Northern Uganda after the war (see “As if We Weren’t Human”: Discrimination and Violence against Women with Disabilities in Northern Uganda):

“When you are disabled, people don’t expect you to own property. They think you should just be dependent, not independent.”

Research shows that PWDs face many barriers that prevent them from owning property. These barriers often exclude men, and especially exclude women from owning and  inheriting property and other assets. Some of these barriers are are detailed in PROPERTY RIGHTS AND MARGINALIZED GROUPS IN UGANDA:

• Customary (inheritance laws that prefer males) and 
• Statutory (which refer to names of ownership – there is often a temptation to get the money from the property), 
• Insecurity in conflict affected northern Uganda, 
• Ignorance of the law, 
• Mistrust, and 
• Poor (or lack of) representation in decision-making arenas.

It is important to know your rights, then you can demand your rights.

This land is not for sale

Article 26 of the Constitution of Uganda is written like this:

26. Protection from deprivation of property. 

(1) Every person has a right to own property either individually or in association with others.

(2) No person shall be compulsorily deprived of property or any interest in or right over property of any description except where the following conditions are satisfied—

(a) the taking of possession or acquisition is necessary for public use or in the interest of defence, public safety, public order, public morality or public health; and

(b) the compulsory taking of possession or acquisition of property is made under a law which makes provision for—

(i) prompt payment of fair and adequate compensation, prior to the taking of possession or acquisition of the property; and

(ii) a right of access to a court of law by any person who has an interest or right over the property.