Lack of Land Law Doesn't Protect Land Grabbers, Says Land Commission Chair

October 15, 2008 (JUBA) – Southern Sudan’s top land official says despite the lack of a comprehensive land law, people whose land has been illegally occupied or grabbed have the right to sue in a court of law.

Speaking to Sudan Radio Service by phone from Juba on Tuesday, the chairperson of the Southern Sudan Land Commission, Mr. Robert Lado, said that trespassing is a criminal offense and prosecuting trespassers is allowed by the Interim Constitution of Southern Sudan.

[Robert Lado]: “If somebody trespasses into your land without permission or unlawfully, he become a trespasser and trespass is taken care of in the criminal law. So if somebody come and takes your property or takes your land they cannot say we are waiting for the land law. That thing is provided for in the criminal law.”

Mr. Lado said his commission becomes involved only if the owner of the land doesn’t want the case handled by the courts, and asks the commission to arbitrate the land dispute.

He said his commission has received many complaints of land grabbing over the years, but said that the nature of the complaints vary, so it’s difficult to generalize.

When asked about complaints from the Madi community in Nimule in Eastern Equatoria, in which SPLA officers are accused of leasing land they don’t own, Mr. Lado said he’s heard about this in the news, but the state government has not filed an official complaint to the land commission. However, he said his commission has written to state authorities to request additional information.