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BY RICHARD DRASIMAKU
ARUA: THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2026
Consul Samuel Ondoma, the new Arua City Land board chairman has set priorities for the statutory body as he finally takes the helm following the swearing in on Wednesday.
“Our first priority is to approve the backlog of files (about 2000) which we inherited from the former Arua district. We are going to process those files and either approve or defer them,” he said after the assuming the office.
The other priority will be to protect public lands such as schools, and religious institutions from land grabbers by working to ensure that all public institutions have land titles, Ondoma said.
The handover and oath of office ends months of waiting since the he was elevated to head the land board in October 2025.
His immediate predicesor Bernard Atiku had resigned from the office to unsuccessfully participate in active elective politics.
Ondoma who was already a member of the five-person City land board was consequently nominated by the City Mayor Sam Wadri Nyakua, creating a vacancy which retired head teacher Bosco Okua Adukule was tapped to fill.
However the land board could not resume operations despite clearance by the Arua City Council since the final approval rests with the ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development.
That confirmation came at the end of January 2026, paving way for the swearing in and handover of office.
Ondoma told a media briefing that he will ensure functional communication channel between the people and the office of the City land board.
“Some people do not know that their files are approved because they do not bother to follow. E shall display the names of those whose files are approved or deferred on our notice board and in social media,” he said.
He also emphasized sensitization of the masses during his four year tenure of office saying ignorance of the land law has been the back born of the conflicts and failure to process land titles.
Ondama emphasized that if Arua City is to develop and transform the people through household income improvement, the people must be guided to get tittles for their lands.
“Many people do not know the difference between customary lands, lease, and freehold and mailo land. Some people apply for lease title when they are already the owner of the land. When you apply for lease it means you are asking the City to take possession of your land and we defer such files and educate the applicant,” said Ondoma.
He promised corruption-free service anchored on team work and cooperation from relevant stakeholders including the titles office, the city council, the office of the town clerk and the division land committees.
“If you want to improve household incomes and help people to develop, you need titled land because that can be used as collateral or security for loans as capital,” Ondoma pointed out, adding that a titled land makes it easy to demand for compensation when the government earmarks such an area for development.
