Dorothy Drabuga, the Chairperson for South Sudan Land Alliance. (Awan Moses/Eye Radio).

The Chairperson for South Sudan land Alliance said the land policy draft does not mean every right to settle in any empty land but that it is a law to guide communities on its usage.

In October 2023, the national cabinet passed the National Land Policy with a section saying that land is owned by the people of South Sudan, and not by communities.

The draft Land Policy was developed to establish a sustainable framework for allocating and protecting collective and individual land rights for all the people of South Sudan.

The document’s passing invoked differing views from members of the public – calling to attention the longstanding debate about ‘who really owns the land in South Sudan.’

When asked for more explanation about the conflicting clause, Dorothy Drabuga, the Chairperson for South Sudan Land Alliance said the yet-to-be legislated policy does not mean anyone can settle in any empty space as they wish.

“The land policy is drafted in line with the constitution, and there is also misunderstanding like where it says the land belongs to the people of South Sudan. Yes, but it doesn’t mean that I will go from Nimule, go to Rumbek and find any empty place and I settle there, no,” Drabuga said.

But they must follow the legal procedure of acquiring land.

“There are processes that I must undertake being a citizen of this country. There are legal processes that one must take.”

“It’s not that, now the law says the land belongs to the people of South Sudan, therefore you can just go find an empty land, you settle, it’s not like that. There are legal processes that you must undertake.”

She said the policy articulates processes for access and ownership, control, administration, use and sustainable management of land to meet core national governance and development objectives.

On his part, Professor Peter Duku from the University of Juba thinks the policy will guide communities on how to deal with issues.

“The land is for all the South Sudanese but also it says, public land but also in details, it says public land belongs to the government,” Duku said.

“The policy is there to guide the community on how to deal with the land, but the law is something made ready, and it is important because the problems of the land are addressed by the policy and from there, the laws will be written.”

Article 32 of the Transitional Constitution stipulates that all land in Southern Sudan is owned by the people of Southern Sudan and its usage shall be regulated by the Government.

It further says every person shall have the right to acquire or own property as regulated by law and as stipulated in Article 32 (1) of the Constitution.