The impact of land tenure systems on prevalence of land conflicts in Gomba district.
Abstract
The objective of this study was to assess the impact of land tenure systems on prevalence of land conflicts in Kanoni Town council Gomba district. It generated an overview on the different types of land tenure systems in Gomba, analyzed the relationship between land tenure systems and the wide spread of land conflicts, the other causes conflicts and the impact of land conflicts on livelihood and development of the study area. The assessment involved the use of the local council one chairpersons (LCI`s) of different villages, Interviews, questionnaires and documentary review to gather data. The findings showed that the among all the reasons that were cited to establish reasons why tenants, land lords and care takers have land conflicts, that is, multiple sales of the same land, inaccurate surveys over boundaries, unregistered land or being a kibanja holder, no access to law enforcement, ownership linked to inheritance with in the family, rampant mass evictions by registered land owners and strong mistrust among the people as regards to dispute resolution authorities, having unregistered land was the major reason with the largest numbers of the respondents strongly agreeing that they had experienced land conflicts due to the failure of the prevailing tenure system to respond to the challenges posed to them. However, among villages where threats of rampant land conflicts due mass eviction had been witnessed, the study found out that most of the respondents had just been released from prisons including the LCI chairpersons, other residents were still being held under custody at the time of the survey, unfortunately some residents lost their lives and others were still healing from physical injuries that happened to them of recent due to the long-standing land conflicts in the area. In light of these findings, there is need therefore to sensitize community members about various land laws, policies and guidelines which the community members could use to protect their land. There is also need for active intervention of the institutions of the different law enforcement bodies, NGO’s and government agencies. The biggest challenge faced during the study was poor understanding of the topic and related questions by respondents. Also, respondents were so sensitive about giving information on land conflicts since the same incidences had just happened and many of them were harsh.