Acquisition of land by a noncitizen in Uganda

Subject to article 237(2)(c) of the Constitution, a noncitizen may acquire a lease in land in accordance with this section.

A lease of five years or more acquired by a noncitizen shall be registered in accordance with the Registration of Titles Act.

A noncitizen shall not be granted a lease exceeding ninety-nine years.

Subject to the other provisions of this section, a noncitizen shall not acquire or hold mailo or freehold land.

Any citizen holding land under freehold or mailo tenure who loses Ugandan citizenship shall have the freehold or mailo tenure converted to a leasehold tenure for a period of ninety-nine years.

For the purposes of this section, “noncitizen” means— (a) a person who is not a citizen of Uganda as defined by theConstitution and the Uganda Citizenship Act;

(b) in the case of a corporate body, a corporate body in which the controlling interest lies with noncitizens;

(d) a company in which the shares are held in trust for noncitizens; (e) a company incorporated in Uganda whose articles of association do not contain a provision restricting transfer or issue of shares to noncitizens.

(8) For purposes of, “controlling interest” means— (a) in the case of companies with shares, the majority shares are held by persons who are not citizens; and

(b) in the case of companies without shares, a company in which decisions are arrived at by the majority who are not citizens.