A Woman & her Land - Uganda Land Alliance

Even when her brother in-law threatened to cuther into pieces with a panga, Rukia did notgive up on her land. She did not know her rightsto land before the law, and neither did she have somuch money to hire lawyers to pursue her case incourt. However, the knowledge she acquired from atraining conducted by Slum Women’s Initiative forDevelopment (SWID) gave her the momentum totake on her brother-in-law. The will, which clearlystated her status over the land in question, wasenough to bail her out of an apparently calamitoussituation.Rukia Kigaiga (43) is a mother of 7 children, 4girls and 3 boys. She was one of her husband’sthree wives. The other two passed on, one beforeand the other after her husband. Rukia’s husband,Musa Kigaiga died in 1999 at a time when the twowere planning to formalize their marriage. Beforehis death though, Musa had purchased the pieceof land in question from one, Nabongo Charles(size unspecified). In a will he prepared prior to hisdeath, he bequeathed a plot of land, his house andother property to Rukia and her children. “I testifythat the land belonged to my brother-in-law, andthat he left it with his wife and children”, says IsikoMusene Joshua (67), Rukia’s elder brother.Sadly for Rukia, soon after her husband’s death,her brother in-law Baker Kigaiga started claimingher land and threatening to throw her out. Heclaimed the land belonged to him and that he’s theone who had built the house in which Rukia wasstaying. Among the tactics Baker used to intimidateRukia, was a court case in which he made a seriesof allegations. However, the case was dismissedCase Studiesafter the complainant failed to produce witnesses.When we met Mzee Musene at his home in Bugiridistrict, he informed us that it’s a common practicein Busoga for in-laws to attempt to inconveniencethe widow upon her husband’s death.We spoke to Rukia’s elderly ‘mother’ KampiMiliyonsi (80+) to find out why girl children in theBusoga culture were always denied a chance toown land as opposed to their brothers. This is whatshe had to say: “When a girl got married and hadchildren, she would get land from her husband’s sidebecause that’s where she belonged.” However, sheadded, “Today’s children are wild-they even turnagainst their parents.” Kampi’s statements correlatewith many others we gathered from different partsof the country, to the effect that stable homes are nomore guaranteed, and as such, girl children deserveto be offered land by their parents as a precautiousmeasure to prevent them from being negated by thelargely male-dominated society.Rukia’s daughter Morine Nanyanzi,who has just completed Senior Six(S.6) says, “Many peopleconsider girl children as lowand useless. I am glad youappreciate our importance.We’ll do everything to standup for our rights”.2727