Thousands of landowners across the Eastern Province have secured legal ownership of their property after a six-month campaign corrected more than 75,000 land records, marking a major step in resolving long-standing ownership disputes and improving land administration.
The exercise, implemented by the National Land Authority (NLA) in partnership with the Rwanda Cadastre Service and Landesa, registered 32,309 previously undocumented land parcels and corrected boundaries on more than 43,000 existing land titles across Kirehe, Kayonza and Nyagatare districts.
Officials said the campaign addressed errors dating back to Rwanda's first nationwide land registration, which relied largely on aerial photography.
In many parts of the Eastern Province, thick vegetation, including banana plantations and maize fields—made it difficult to accurately identify property boundaries from aerial images.
In other cases, land parcels were never registered because owners were unavailable during the exercise.
The inaccuracies led to overlapping boundaries, ownership disputes and limited access to land services for thousands of residents.
Marie Grace Nishimwe, Director General of the National Land Authority and Chief Registrar of Land Titles, said the exercise has improved the accuracy of land records while strengthening land tenure security.
"The exercise has produced positive results. Citizens are already benefiting, and government land that had not been identified during the original registration has now been properly recorded. This activity will continue across the country," she said.
Nishimwe also urged residents to use land in line with their respective area master plans, as required by law.
The programme will be extended to more districts, including Bugesera, during the 2026/27 financial year.
Kayonza records major gains
Kayonza District emerged as one of the biggest beneficiaries of the exercise, which targeted more than 28,500 hectares affected by registration gaps and boundary disputes.
Officials said more than 35,000 land parcels were processed, resulting in the issuance of over 28,000 land titles to their rightful owners.
Around 4,700 parcels could not immediately receive titles because of unresolved ownership disputes, existing bank mortgages, or cases involving wetlands and other government land that had mistakenly been registered under private ownership.
Those cases have since been referred to district authorities for follow-up.
Acting Mayor Fred Hategekimana said the programme has significantly improved land administration while reducing disputes among residents.
"Wherever there are still land boundary disputes, it remains our responsibility as leaders to continue assisting residents. We also encourage citizens who have not yet registered their land to approach local authorities so they can receive the necessary land services," he said.
For Joseph Rwanjogera, a resident of Mukarange Sector, the exercise ended a dispute that had strained relations with a neighbour for years.
"Our land boundaries overlapped, and we were constantly in conflict. Through this programme, the issue was resolved free of charge. Today, both my neighbour and I have our land titles," he said.
Challenges remain in Kirehe
Kirehe District continues to face significant land governance challenges, underscoring the need for sustained intervention.
District authorities estimate that about 80 percent of cases handled by the district are land-related, ranging from informal land transactions and illegal subdivisions to overlapping boundaries, multiple ownership claims, and cases where privately owned land has mistakenly been registered as state property.
Officials said strengthening the capacity of land administration staff is critical to addressing these challenges.
The National Land Authority estimates that more than 28,000 land parcels in Kirehe still require registration or record updates, highlighting the scale of work that remains.
To strengthen local capacity, the NLA and Landesa are training more than 1,000 local land officers, sector land committees and community mediators (abunzi) on implementing the 2021 Land Law, dispute resolution procedures and digital land administration.
The initiative also includes deploying 50 land technicians to verify property boundaries, harmonise cadastral maps and support districts in resolving complex land cases.
However, officials said the exercise did not cover all mapped parcels within the implementation period. More than 12,000 parcels remain unattended and will be addressed in subsequent phases.