Theresa Auma is a Ugandan scholar and social activist. Theresa has a vast experience in the NGO sector in Uganda, working with the land sector. She is the current Executive Director of Land and Equity Movement in Uganda (LEMU), an NGO whose work is focused on the recognition and protection of customary land rights. As a land expert, she has also offered expert services as a consultant to international organizations, focusing on diverse topics such as promoting responsible investments in land, protection of community lands and resources.
In terms of academic pursuits, she recently completed her Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship at Makerere Institute of Social Research (MISR), Makerere University. Since January 2024, she has been a research consultant with the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS) at the University of the Western Cape (UWC). She holds a PhD in Social Studies from Makerere University and her doctoral thesis is titled: “Customary Resistance to Marketization of Land: Lango clans in northern Uganda”. Her academic research interest spans issues around neoliberal market transitions, the land question and agrarian questions around social reproduction under capitalism.
Dr. Doreen Nancy Kobusingye was born in Bushenyi district in Uganda. In 2005 she got her bachelor’s degree in Development Studies from Makerere University, in 2011 her Master’s degree in Development Studies from Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Uganda and in 2018 her Ph.D, from Wageningen University, the Netherlands, her PhD. Thesis is titled ‘Land in Post-Conflict Situations: War, Decentralization, Land Governance and State Formation in Northern Uganda’. From 2011 to 2018 Doreen researched and published on post-conflict land governance in Uganda.
She is currently working as a Facilitator- National Land Coalition (NLC) Uganda. NLC Uganda is a multi-stakeholder platform with over 30 member organizations. It brings together various local and international organizations working on land and natural resource governance in the country. In 2019 she worked as a postdoctoral researcher on a project called Grounded Legitimacy which was coordinated by Radboud University, the Netherlands. She has lectured at universities (Mbarara University and Uganda Christian University) in Uganda and conducted a number of researches as a consultant for example in 2013 she conducted a research on securing women’s land rights in northern Uganda (West Nile, Acholi, Lango, Teso and Karamoja regions) commissioned by Oxfam. Some of her publications include; Kobusingye, N. Doreen. 2018. “African Youths; the Forgotten Category in land governance. A Case study of Post-conflict Acholi Region, Northern Uganda.” Journal of Geoforum, Kobusingye, N. Doreen, Van Leeuwen, Mathijs and Van Dijk, Han. 2017. “The Multifaceted Relationship between Land and Violent Conflict: The Case of Apaa Evictions in Amuru District, Northern Uganda.” Journal of Modern African Studies and Kobusingye, N. Doreen, Van Leeuwen, Mathijs and Van Dijk, Han. 2016. “Where Do I Report My Land Dispute? The Impact of Institutional Proliferation on Land Governance in Post-conflict Northern Uganda.” Journal of Legal Pluralism and Unofficial Law
Benjamin is the overall finance and administration for LEMU at the Head Office in Kampala. He is a Certified Public Accountant of Uganda with a Post-Graduate Diploma in Financial Management from Uganda Management Institute. Benjamin has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Makerere University. Prior to joining LEMU in 2021, Benjamin worked in the finance department of reputable organizations such as East African Ministries-Uganda, OXFAM GB and OXFAM NOVIB and Uganda Child Right NGO Network. He is responsible for managing donor relations, human resource management, efficient financial management and reporting, financial risk management, implementation of LEMU finance and procurement policies and donor regulations and directly deputises the Executive Director in Finance and Administration matters of the organization.
Andrew is a Senior Employee at LEMU who joined in 2017. Over the years, he has gained a wealth of experience and expertise on customary land tenure management and how rights are derived and claimed. Andrew previously worked with the team in LEMU’s field office in Soroti office supporting the evolution of customary land tenure in Teso region, but has extended his work to lead the team implementing the Promotion of Responsible Investment work in Lango region implemented through the Lira field office. Andrew has a Bachelor’s Degree in Development Studies from Uganda Christian University, Mukono.
Alex is a fresh graduate with a Bachelor’s Degree in Development Studies from Makerere University. He joined LEMU in 2021 and works at LEMU Head office in Kampala as a Project Officer supporting program development, public relations, research and advocacy at the national level.
Maraka is a Senior Employee at LEMU who joined in 2017. Over the years, he has gained a wealth of experience and expertise on customary land tenure management in a context where land and other natural resources are accessed, managed and owned communally.
He has facilitated a number of communities that own large tacks of grazing lands in Karamoja to document their rules, strengthen management structures, mark the boundaries of their land, resolve conflicts over communal lands and resources and follow the established provisions of the land law to form Communal Land Associations (CLAs) and register their land as communally owned.
Maraka also works with communities affected by land-based investments to adopt preventive legal empowerment approaches to ensure their land rights are not violated by investments. Maraka is based in Amudat district and works through LEMU’s field office in Moroto, Karamoja region. He has a Bachelor’s Degree of Arts in Social sciences from Makerere University.
Marian holds a Bachelors Degree in Development Studies from Kyambogo University. She has 5 years hands-on experience on customary Land Governance with emphasis on women’s land rights and gender-based violence, while working at Land and Equity Movement in Uganda (LEMU) as a Project Officer based in the Soroti Field office.
Marian has been involved in research such as the research on customary landowners perceptions of Land Titling in 2019. She has intensively worked with communities in Teso region in Eastern Uganda to document customary land rights using fit-for-purpose approaches such as MY GPS application as well as the development of gender-sensitive customary land demarcation and documentation manual using the same application for replication by other stakeholders in the land sector. She has also worked with clan leaders to mediate land-related conflicts under customary tenure
Joyce is a fresh graduate with a Bachelor’s Degree in Development Studies from Makerere University. She joined LEMU in 2021 and works at LEMU field office in Lira as a Project Officer supporting program resolution of land conflicts arising from customary land tenure through a close partnership with the Lango Cultural Foundation.
She is also a team member focusing on the implementation of programs on Promoting Responsible Investments in Land and empowering communities to use preventive legal approaches to guard against violation of their land rights in the context of land-based investments.
Miller has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Africa Renewal University, Uganda. He joined the finance department of LEMU in 2018 and supports the finance operations of LEMU ensuring disbursement and accountability for project funds are conducted within LEMU policy and donor regulations. He also supports the Finance and Administration Manager in ensuring compliance to relevant laws and regulations and preparation of financial reports.
Peter is one of the longest serving employees of LEMU since 2013. He manages procurement processes and LEMU stores, ensuring that procurements in all LEMU offices are conducted according to LEMU policies. He also serves as the transport officer for all programs conducting driving and automobile maintenance services for LEMU. He holds a diploma in Procurement and Logistics from Uganda Institute of Communication and Technology (UICT).