ASSESSING THE CAUSE OF LAND CONFLICTS IN CUSTOMARY LAND AND

THEIR APPROPRIATE HANDLING

NUWAGABA DALIUS

REG NO: 16/U/10580/SLD/PD

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.0. Introduction

This research presents the study of the different land conflicts in customary land and their
appropriate handling in Kasese District, Western Uganda; with a case study of Kisinga sub-
county. The research will explore the customary land ownership in the district in terms of
land registration. Especially as there is no doubt that customary land tenure system needs to
be supported with a certificate of title that is equal to freehold; that can provide evidence of
land rights, provide security of tenure and that can be used as collateral for bank loan s, but
still easily obtainable by the land owners. This research will therefore highlight some of the
benefits and limitations and relationship of Certificates of Customary Ownership (CCOs)
and land conflicts. At the end of this study, there should be an understanding of the different
causes of land conflicts in customary land and their appropriate handling in Kasese district.

1.1 Background

Land in Kasese is held under customary, Freehold and Leasehold tenures. Land in Kasese is an
important resource—secure access to land is a prerequisite to agricultural development, the bac

kbone of Kasese’s economy. Land also contains cultural significance as a symbol for wealth, status
and most importantly, familial relations and ancestry. (Zachary Slotkin- 2017).

Because land supports the local economy, this has serious implications on the day-to-day lives of
people in Kasese.

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Most private land in Kasese-Kisinga Sub County is owned under customary tenure and also
unregistered with the government (Zachary Slotkin- 2017).

In the wake of over fifteen years of brutal conflict between the different clans in kasese district
where people riot over land which is said to be in the neighborhood of kasese district, most of
residents of kasese have migrated from kasese in search of peace, land and security and this has
lead the citizens to still live under conditions that researcher Sverker Finnstrom has termed piny
marac, or “bad surroundings”. Prevalent land insecurity is a critical aspect of the negative peace
felt by the Kisinga sub-region in particular (Komakech, 2013), as well over two thousand
instances of land disputes have been recorded in the region since the cessation of hostilities
There is increasing land disputes because of the unclear boundaries. In kasese district for the
majority of households(64.4%), land conflicts have increased over the last five 5 years, due to
rapid population growth, poor legislation and leadership on land matters,inter-tribal conflicts, land
shortage and fragmentation of household land

The government often faces a dilemma when planning to construct large-scale infrastructure
projects that would have positive impacts on economic productivity but are cut short because of
the unregistered land.

Also the internal conflicts between the different clans and tribes basically Bakonjo and Bamba in
Kasese land caused a humanitarian crisis of herding most of the population to Internally
Displaced Peoples (IDPs) camps (Slotkin Zachary – 2017).

Long-term displacement in Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps has left many community
members unsure of the boundaries of their former land holdings, while others have found their
land grabbed in their absence. The land administration system in Uganda comprises formal and
informal institutions for land dispute resolution. The project is building on these institutions to
resolve new disputes that arise out of the land inventory project. One of the challenges of land
administration in Uganda is the absence of functional, low cost alternative dispute resolution
institutions for handling land cases. This lack has denied justice to many land rights holders,
mainly women and other marginalized groups. The formal court systems have proved to be very
expensive, detached, and too bureaucratic and hence not beneficial to the underprivileged
members of society (Huber, 2018). The project therefore promotes the use of Alternative Dispute

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Resolution (ADR) for resolving land disputes. Land disputes that arose during the preparatory
meetings, dialogues or at the land clinics are reported to the VDRT for further processing.
Ideally, if the conflict is solved, data capturing and mapping can start. Otherwise the land in
dispute cannot be administered and the parties will be referred to formal dispute institutions.

As most of the land in the region is allocated based on customary tenure, very little
documentation exists to support ownership claims, which has led to violent disputes between
individuals, clans, and investors Coupled with that, a generation of youth who grew up during
the IDPs neither knew where they came from nor appreciated the customary system that existed
before the IDPs. As such, a lot of disputes have manifested during and after the return from the
IDPs. (Atkinson, Latigo, Ahirirwe and Alobo, 2018).

Most of the land under customary land tenure was not registered and this made the government of
Uganda to introduce the formal registration of customary land excitement was buzzing among the
Ministry of Lands’ Housing and Urban Development (MLHUD) Department, various Non-
Governmental Organizations (NGOs), district authorities, and communities in Western Uganda.

In March 2012, after a nine-year long wait, and for the first time in Uganda’s history, Certificates
of Customary Ownership (CCOs) were to be issued to applicants. (Agula Joseph -2013).

This was done by introducing systematic land adjudication and certification (SLAAC), also ZOA
organization was contracted to help and carry out the demarcation of Customary land for the local
communities in Kasese district and their project was to last for over a period of 3 years.

Despite this fundamental change from the current law, since the approval of the NLP, a few development
actors have promoted and facilitated the issue of Certificates of Customary Ownership (CCOs) in Kasese
and Nwoya districts, respectively.The sensitization that usually accompanies projects to issue CCOs
focused on only one or two issues – that it provides one with better security and collateral for bank loans.
CCOs can bring far reaching changes to the land rights of many people in a family and community, so it
is important that there is a much fuller understanding of the pros and cons, especially as there is no doubt
that the customary land tenure system needs to be supported with a title that is equal to Freehold; that can
provide evidence of land rights, provide security of tenure and that can be used as collateral for bank
loans. This paper is written to highlight some of the risks to CCOs, as they are currently implemented.

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The paper is also written to help communities and other stakeholders understand the risks in CCOs so that
they can make informed decisions. The paper also proposes solutions to the risks.

Unfortunately, shortly after the introduction of CCOs, both the design of the CCOs and its
implementation has proved problematic (Agula Joseph- 2013). The sensitization about customary
land registration that usually accompanies projects to issue CCOs (for example the ZOA Uganda
Land Projects) focuses on only one or two issues – that it provides one with better security and
collateral for bank loans.

Although there exist circumstances that make land registration desirable in Kasese – Kisinga Sub
County, the existing conditions for the essential success of customary land tenure registration seem
not to be what it is. The land owners and stake holders seem not to understand the land registration
system for customary land. Apparently there seems to be issues of land ownership after registration
since customary land is owned either by clans or families. Due to inadequate information on the
types and nature of land conflicts, their occurrence rates and resolution mechanisms applied is not
available. (Deininger 2003). The land personnel and staff at the registry seem to be facing a
challenge in defining land rights. There may be limited sensitization to the public about CCOs,
because the organizations seem to be given less time to carry out the sensitization.

Several stakeholders seem to be calling for the Ministry of Lands to suspend the implementation
of the CCO in its current form, and to revisit the initiative to ensure that the recognition of
customary land ownership remains an inclusive, well-thought-out process (Agula &Joseph,
2013). Whether this effort manifests in the form of a revised CCO or another instrument in order
for it to endure successfully in kasese
Also there is increasing land disputes because of the unclear boundaries. The system of
customary land tenure, through which the vast majority of people in Kasese district inherit land
owned by ancestors, also can lead to unclear property rights. The government and civil society
often face a dilemma when planning to construct large-scale infrastructure projects that would
have positive impacts on economic productivity but are cut short because of the unregistered
land.

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So it is important that there is a much fuller understanding of the cause of different land conflicts
in customary land and provide a mechanism how they can be stopped, especially as there is no
doubt that the customary land tenure system needs to be supported with a title that is equal to
Freehold.

While there is a conclusive literature on the customary land rights registration in Uganda (Article
237, section 4(a) of the Land Act1998 , little attention has been devoted to the study of different
causes of land conflicts which is an important factor in determining the resolution mechanism in
customary land.

The land Act-Cap 227 provides for a system of holding rural land which is customary either in the
Customary Certificate of Ownership (CCO) or freehold land ownership.

Therefore it’s considered relevant to clearly understand the nature, cause of different land disputes,
also relating those conflicts to land registration in order to come up with their appropriate handling.

2. Problem Statement.

There is an increase of land conflicts on customary land due to ineffective land registration
(Wehrmann 2008) and these have been highlighted as obstacles to development. The land sector
in Uganda faces several challenges that include insecurity of tenure, overlapping and conflicting
land rights and manifesting inequality in access to and ownership of land (Moser & Rodgers,
2005)

Attempts have been made by the government and non-governmental organizations to prevent
land conflicts by modifying customary land ownership to improve all its circumstances that
make land registration desirable for example introduction of systematic land adjudication and
certification (SLAAC), also ZOA organization was contracted to help and carry out the
demarcation of Customary land for local communities in Kasese district and their project was to
last for over a period of 3 years. (ZOA, 2018). The land owners and stakeholders seem not to
understand the land registration system for Customary land and therefore land conflicts continue
to prevail. (Agula & Joseph, 2013). Apparently there seems to be issues of land ownership after
registration since customary land is owned either by clans or families. Due to inadequate information on

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the types and nature of land conflicts, their occurrence rates and resolution mechanisms applied is not
available. (Deininger 2003).

Without a clear understanding of the nature, cause of different land disputes and their appropriate
handling, land conflicts will continue to prevail. Therefore it is considered relevant and timely to
analyze the present land conflict situation in relation to the land registration in kasese district
kisinga Sub County which is the reason the researcher is undertaking the study.

1.3. Main Objective

To determine the cause of land conflicts within customary land and provide a mechanism how they can be
stopped.

1.4. Specific Objective

1. To determine the land conflicts before and after CCOs.

2. To assess the extent to which land rights have been physically defined on customary land
tenure system over years.
3. To verify the boundaries of registered customary land.
4. To determine how land conflicts can be stopped in customary land

Research questions

Specific Objective 1:

 At what rate was land conflicts before introduction of CCOs?

 At what rate is land conflicts after introduction of CCOs?

Specific Objective 2:

 How are the customary land rights defined?

 How property boundaries have been defined liable for CCOs?

Specific Objective 3:

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  How are the boundaries of registered customary land verified?

Specific objective 4:

 How land conflicts can be stopped in customary land

1.6. Scope

This study will concentrate on KASESE district especially Kisinga Sub County as a case study
area and the research results are expected within 4 months after the approval of the research
proposal. The high degree of feasibility of the research will be based on to arrival at selection of
the study area.

ArcGIS software will be used to produce maps in determining the extents of land registration as a
way of reducing land conflicts. AutoCAD and Arc Map will be used to produce maps showing the
extents of customary land – both registered and unregistered. Also design tools such as Statistical
Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) Statistics will be used to do weighting of the rate at which
the land registration for customary tenure is taking place consequently determining how people’s
rights have been physically determined over years.

Included in the scope of the suitability project will be the formal interrogation of stake holders in
the region and customary land owners too. This will be the core in determining the cause of land
conflicts in relation to land registration in form of CCOs.

1.7. Significance

This study will go a long way in identifying the different causes of land conflicts in customary
land and providing a mechanism how those conflicts can be resolved in Kasese district particularly,
Kisinga Sub County, and at what rate is the adoption of CCOs effective since its introduction in
Uganda. If the methodology used in this study is adopted by policy makers/implementers on land
matters and policies across Kisinga and the country, it can help in ascertaining and improving the
customary land rights relevant to the land owners, stake holders and the government and how the
different land conflicts are appropriately handled which is a significant factor towards sustainable
development.

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Literature review

Land disputes are widespread in Uganda, affecting 33% to 50% of landholders.

(Rugadya,2009).The disputes arise in an environment where mechanisms for defining boundaries,
determining tenure, resolving disputes, and negotiating access are hindered by weakness in
customary and formal law and by misunderstanding between stakeholders. . (UNOCHA, 2010),
and these land disputes in turn inhibit the productivity of small-scale farms due to reduced
cultivation, decreased investment, and loss of economic asset

A conflict is defined as a social fact in which at least two parties are involved and whose origins
are differences either in interests or in the social position of the parties. (Imbusch 1999.
Consequently a land conflict can be defined as a social fact in which at least two parties are
involved, the roots of which are different interests over the property rights to land: the right to use
land, to manage the land, to generate income from the land, to exclude others from the land, to
transfer it and the right to compensation for it. A land conflict, therefore, can be understood as a
misuse, restriction or dispute over property rights to land. (Wehrmann, 2005)

According to (Rugadya,2009) &( Deininger and Castagnini,2004),the different land disputes

include; Disputes between junior and senior family members, Disputes between widows and
members of their late husband’s family, Land grabbing by neighboring families or villages,
Selling family land without permission, Disputes between landowners and squatters, and
Disputes related to gifting and other unrecorded transfers of ownership.

Land conflicts often have extensive negative effects on economic, social, spatial, and ecological
developments and it’s evident in developing countries and counties in transactions (Wehrmann
2008)

Customary land tenure covers 75% of land in most African countries (Chirayath et al, 2016). Over 70% of
land in Uganda falls under customary land, while the owners are entitled to customary land tenure and
boundaries are usually determined by specific landmarks such as trees, rivers and hills. The owners of
customary land are entitled to Certificates of Customary Ownership (CCO). However, most of the owners
are reluctant in obtaining the certificates, and very few have obtained them

Literatures on land tenure systems show that in most African countries, formal tenure covers less than
10% of land; implying that more than 90% of land is held under customary land tenure. A report

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published by (UNDP, 2015) indicates that 97% of land in PRDP1 regions is held under the customary land
tenure system (UNDP, 2015). Customary tenure means that land is owned by a community whose
members have user rights, and that there is no private ownership, but every member in the group is
guaranteed access to land (Besteman, 1994).

Significant importance is therefore attached to land under customary tenure, since it both serves as an
economic resource for agricultural production and livelihoods, and as a source of social status, political
power and cultural heritage and belonging (Sjogren, 2014). Customary land is recognized for its roles in
securing local tenure, this in view of the failures by many African states to establish the formal tenure
system. The rights are understood as a cluster, in which different individuals hold different rights, such as
the right to farm, graze, obtain water, gather wild plants, spiritual sites and hunt wild game, these lands, it
is believed, are owned by tribal chiefs in trust for their communities(Besteman, 1994). In post conflict,
customary tenure systems can undergo substantial changes as people are displaced and where the land in
question becomes the subject of covet to multiple interests (Unruh J. D., 2001).

The chief financier of land reforms in Africa, the World Bank, views customary tenure as a system that
does not provide tenure security due to the vagueness of customary land law and the overlapping legal
system. It is also argued that under customary tenure systems, land use is irresponsible and inefficient
because it lacks private ownership and rights, as land largely remains unregistered and thus carries no
proof of documents to their user rights.

Land disputes therefore persist as the customary tenure fails to respond to land appreciation, increasing
population and other exogenous factors including technical changes, improved terms of trade for
agriculture, or non-agricultural demand for land (Deininger & Castagnini, 2006). It further implies that
customary tenure is failing to preserve tenure security due to its openness to competition by many
interested parties. It is no longer protective or egalitarian (Berry 2009), but rather entails a layer of access
at individual and communal levels (Peters, 2009).

But land tenure security is one of the most important institutional needs in a post conflict situation due to
its link with food security (Unruh J. D., 2003). War situations, however, significantly affect both the formal
and informal tenure systems, and reduce their legitimacy to manage land relations (Unruh J. D., 2001).

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 CAPTER THREE:

METHODOLOGY

Datasets and Data acquisitionIn this project, I will obtain both spatial and non-spatial data.

Table 1: Datasets and Data acquisition

Dataset Data source

Spatial data

Administrative boundaries Uganda Bureau of statistics(UBOS)

Kasese ortho photo Kasese land office

Landsat/ Google earth images USGS/ Earth Explorer

Non-spatial data

This will first be identified using  Literature

 Questionnaires
 Interviews

Table 2: Tools to be used

Tool Functionality

High accuracy Hand held GPS Data collection

Arc PAD Field scenario data collection and mapping

SPSS Software( statistical package for social Data coding and frequency distribution
sciences) analysis

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Arc Map 10.6 Field scenario mapping

AutoCAD 2019 Data analysis for the required trend

Visual creation

Tape Field data collection

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 Data identification and collection

Literature Ortho photo Landsat/Google

Questionnaires
review earth images

Field data
collection Georeferencing &
rectification

Data coding and

frequency distribution
analysis Onscreen
digitization

Areas of effect Field scenario Digital data in

manifestation mapping GIS and
AutoCAD

Analysis

Reclassification,
Level of Conflict
Distribution Maps,
resolution
Statistics Exploration

Methodology flow diagram

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Application of the methodology

Research objective Data collection or Data Collection Data Analysis

Sampling Instruments
methods and sources

To assess the extent to Landsat TM/ETM United States query and Mask out the Kisinga
which land rights have images or Google Geological county boundaries extents using the
been physically earth images Survey Website ArcGIS query tool
defined on customary (via earth
land tenure system explorer)
The satellite images will be reclassified
according to how their variation in
Administrative
Uganda Bureau customary land ownership over years
boundaries
of Statistics has been affected by the registration
(UBOS) process using AutoCAD and Arc Map
software to produce maps which will be
considered in determining the extends at
which the registration is taking place

The cadastral maps will be scanned and

georeferenced in AutoCAD. Using
AutoCAD or Arc Map software, spatial
maps will then be produced.

Determination of the extents of the

surveyed customary boundaries that are
liable to CCOs and how the customary
land rights have been defined.

The collected spatial data will be used

at a later stage of analysing, using
AutoCAD and Arc Map software to

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Existing cadastral Kasese District produce spatial maps. The maps will
maps and spatial Land Office then be used to establish;
coordinates (DLO)or ZOA
The extents of customary land tenure in
the study area; knowing the cadastral
boundaries liable for CCOs.

The nature of How the customary land

rights have been defined in terms of
Ground surveys customary land boundaries; either as
fixed or general boundaries.
Handheld GPS

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To determine the rate Administrative Uganda Bureau IBM SPSS
of land conflicts before boundaries of Statistics
Weighting of the rate at which the land
and after CCOs (UBOS)
registration for customary tenure is
taking place. This process will result
into production of statistics in form of
charts and graphs that will aid in
United States assessing the effectiveness of
Geological customary land registration in Kisinga
Survey Website sub county.
(via earth
explorer)

Kasese District
Land Office
(DLO)or ZOA
Police data
Police station()

Google Earth
images

CCOs registry data

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To determine the IBM SPSS for charts and graphs
inefficiencies in the
Generating distribution Map
CCOs registry method
on customary land Questionnaires Population The pre-processed data will be
vectorized into data sets. The results of
Interviews
this process will be resident maps of
Literature Kasese District customary land ownership. In addition,
Land Officer, a customary land (registered and un-
District registered) distribution map will be
Chairperson of realised in the process.
the Land Board,
and DSS, some
stakeholders

To assess the impacts Questionnaires Population IBM SPSS for charts and graphs
of customary land
Interviews
registration in
resolving land Literature Kasese District
conflicts to the Land Officer,
District
Government and
Chairperson of
communities.
the Land Board,
and DSS, some
stakeholders

ZOA- Uganda
organisation

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 WORK SCHEDULE

ACTIVITY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN

Idea generation
Literature review
supervisor
consultation
Proposal writing
Proposal
presentation
Data collection
Learning the soft
ware
Data processing
Data
analysis/verification
Report writing
final presentation
Report submission

ESTIMATED BUDGET

ACTIVITY RESOURCES COST

1 Stationery 50000
2 Internet 50000
learning
3 100000
MCDM
4 Transport 150000
5 Miscellaneous 100000
TOTAL 450000

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References

1. Zachary Slotkin-2017: Land Insecurity in Gulu, Uganda: A Clash Between Culture and
Capitalism
2. Judy Adoko, LEMU 9TH MAY, 2017: Policy Brief on the risk to CCOs
3. National Land Policy (NLP)
4. Agula Joseph Ogoror): Highlighting the case for Certificate of Customary Ownership
(CCO) Issues Paper by Northern Uganda Land Platform (NULP)
5. Instituting the Protection of Rights to Customary Land Ownership in Acholi land
6. ZOA End Evaluation and Baseline Study for Land Projects in Kasese District, Northern
Uganda.

COMMENTS

1) . What do you want to show after four months from now?

2) After how long the introduction of CCOs did conflicts start occurring?
3) When completing the 2nd objectives, use both forward and backward intervals to find whether
the rights were incorporated before and after CCOs.
4) Change the first objective to the second and the second objective to be the first.
By Mr. Wadembere Ismail.
5) Come up with a forth objective as to determine how the land conflicts can be stopped.
By Mr. Wadembere Ismail.
6) The main objective should be determining the cause of land conflicts within customary land and
provide a mechanism how they can be stopped. By Mr. Wadembere Ismail.
7) The background should show a detailed information of how CCOs operate and highlight how
CCOs are generated, mention also the factors leading to inconsistency of CCOs. . By
Madam.Sophia.

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 Comments table

# Comments How it was addressed page

4 Change the first objective to the
second and the second objective
to be the first. By Mr.
Wadembere Ismail.
1. To determine the land conflicts before and after
CCOs.
2. To assess the extent to which land rights have been
physically defined on customary land tenure system
over years.

5 Come up with a forth objective as 4. To determine how land conflicts can be stopped in
to determine how the land customary land
conflicts can be stopped.

By Mr. Wadembere Ismail.

6 The main object should be To determine the cause of land conflicts within
restructured in order to customary land and provide a mechanism how they
accomplish your project. By Mr. can be stopped.
Wadembere Ismail.

7 The background should show a It was addressed in the background

detailed information of how
CCOs operate and highlight how
CCOs are generated, mention
also the factors leading to
inconsistency of CCOs. . By
Madam.Sophia.

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