Land intended for agriculture, livestock, and forestry, which is larger than five hectares and remains unexploited, may be subject to temporary acquisition by the state, according to a new ministerial order on the temporary acquisition of land and termination of land ownership contracts, published in July.

The order, signed by the Minister of Environment, Valentine Uwamariya, aims to enforce the 2021 law on land. According to Article 70 of this law, the minister may requisition land that remains unexploited without a valid reason.

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The new order stipulates that the minister must provide the landowner with a written notice 90 days before temporarily requisitioning the land.

The City of Kigali and district authorities may request the minister to order the temporary requisition of unexploited land if reports indicate that the land has not been used for one year without reasonable cause, or if there have been official letters from decentralized entities asking the landowner to utilize the land, but the landowner has failed to do so without justification.

During six consecutive months, authorities must request in writing for the landowner to exploit the land or provide reasons for not doing so.

If the landowner provides a reasonable explanation, the City of Kigali or the district may request that the landowner sub-lease the land to someone who can exploit it.

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If the landowner neither sub-leases the land nor provides a valid reason, and the land remains unexploited, the City of Kigali or the district will include the land in a report of land that must be requisitioned.

Temporary requisition may be canceled or suspended if, during the notice period, the landowner provides a reasonable explanation for non-exploitation and shows willingness and ability to exploit the land with a project to be implemented within one year or sub-leases it to another person.

If the project is not implemented within one year, the temporary requisition will proceed without further notice.

Duration of Temporary Requisition

Temporary requisition of land for agriculture and livestock lasts for three consecutive years, while for forestry, it lasts for ten years. Temporarily requisitioned land is managed by the ministry, which may assign it to any interested person capable of exploiting it.

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The minister may assign temporarily requisitioned agricultural or livestock land to an individual to improve their social welfare, based on a request by the mayor of the City of Kigali or the district where the land is located.

Repossessing Land or Losing Ownership

According to Article 71, the holder of temporarily requisitioned land may apply to the minister for repossession in writing. The landowner must submit a letter to the minister within six months before the end of the requisition period, detailing their plan and ability to exploit the land. The landowner must significantly exploit the land within one year of repossession.

If the landowner does not apply for repossession, the minister may extend the assignment or terminate the land ownership contract. Termination occurs if the landowner fails to apply for the return of land designated for agriculture, livestock, or forestry that was temporarily requisitioned.

Verification of Land Exploitation

The order specifies that failure to exploit land served with basic infrastructure like roads, water, and electricity, and located where building permits are authorized, results in loss of land rights.

Additionally, if the land is in an area where the land use and development master plan has begun, or in a prime area established by the City of Kigali or district council, and remains unexploited, the landowner loses the right to the land.

Land rights are also lost if the land is not exploited according to the land use and development master plan and relevant laws for at least five consecutive years, as per the first year of inspection report.

After termination of the land ownership contract, authorities appoint a property valuer to assess the land and incorporated property. The valuation amount, minus the cost of works done, is paid to the landowner, and the land is immediately registered to the purchaser.

However, the state cannot terminate the land ownership contract if the landowner has presented reasonable grounds for not complying with the contract.