When the Powerful Take from the Vulnerable: CEFROHT’s Fight against Land Rights Violations.

CEFROHT continues to champion justice for vulnerable women facing land rights violations, with reaffirmation that land is not just a commodity, but a foundation of livelihood, identity, and human rights.

In Kyotera District, CEFROHT is legally representing a widow who was forcefully evicted from her land after a fraudster deceitfully processed a certificate of ownership in their name and later sold the land to a third party, all without her knowledge or consent, impeding her source of livelihood and sustenance for her dependents.

Through our legal aid clinic and strategic litigation program, CEFROHT intervened to ensure that the widow’s right to property and dignity are upheld. The legal team has completed all preliminary proceedings, filed the necessary pleadings, and now awaits the court hearing scheduled for 2nd December, 2025.

This case is not isolated but part of a broader pattern where the poor and vulnerable, particularly widows and rural women, are disproportionately affected by fraudulent land dealings and violent evictions. Across Uganda, powerful individuals, corporations, and land speculators continue to exploit weaknesses in the land governance system and lengthy court processes to dispossess women and smallholder farmers of their land. These evictions often leave families destitute, threaten food security, and undermine women’s economic empowerment.

CEFROHT calls upon government institutions, civil society organizations, and development partners to collectively address these injustices. There is an urgent need for policy and legal reforms that strengthen land rights protection, close loopholes in land administration systems, and enhance access to justice for the poor and marginalized. This will promote accountability, community legal empowerment, quick legal redress, and help restore hope and dignity among women and rural families facing forceful evictions.

Read more about our pro bono cases here:https://www.cefroht.org/programme/pro-bono-cases-on-land-and-equity/