Endogenous land privatization in rural Uganda: What are the implications for customary land governance and customary land dispute resolution policies?
Matt Kandel
This paper considers the impact of endogenous land privatization on customary land governance and customary land dispute resolution policies in Africa. I analyze a magistrate court-directed mediation hearing for a customary land dispute, which I observed in October of 2015 in eastern Uganda. I explain how the dispute and mediation hearing illuminate the growing trend of rural land privatization across Africa. This paper also provides a comparative analysis of customary and statutory land dispute resolution practices. Political and economic change in eastern Uganda has caused a weakening in customary land governance; yet, my analysis of the mediation hearing shows how both customary and statutory land dispute resolution methods remain salient in practice. Evidence of their complementarity carries important implications for the development and/or reform of land dispute resolution policies. More broadly, this paper underscores the need for sustainable land reform in Africa, particularly in areas where customary tenure predominates.
Event: Land Governance in an Interconnected World_Annual World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty_2018
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