Access to land justice through Local Council Courts: How effective are they?

The importance of this editors’ meeting is to raise awareness about the importance and role as well as the issues/ challenges of LCCs in resolving land disputes.

The presentations by Ms. Gertrude Rose Gamwera, Secretary General Uganda Local Government Association (ULGA) and Ms. Sylvia Namubiru Mukasa, Executive Director Legal Aid Service Providers Network (LASPNET) gave an overview on the current issues LCCs face and highlighted the media as a crucial stakeholder due to the fact that they are the channel of information.

The media representatives raised the concern of their safety and protection in covering these sensitive issues. In response to this, Ms. Sylvia Namubiru Mukasa informed the participants that LASPNET does media trainings and has an “advocate” programme for media personnel to protect them against any threats to cover stories about sensitive issues like land disputes.

The presenters further appealed to the editors that they should not be afraid but use their power and position to inform the public about these issues, as well as put pressure on policy makers to resolve and address these issues.