Land tenure reform in Uganda some reflections on the formalisation of customary tenure

The paper provides an overview of the history of land tenure reform in Uganda from 1900 to 2000. Methods, which were used to formalise customary tenure in Uganda, are reviewed and the effects of the first reform, which formalised customary tenure through negotiations with local leaders are reported. The subsequent reform in which the colonial administration, relying on the power of the law, formalised customary land into freehold and leasehold without any consultations with the local population, is described. The land distribution policy enshrined in the Crown Lands (Adjudication) Rules, 1958 is related: the reactions of the indigenous people to the reforms in Uganda are highlighted; and the contribution of the independent Uganda government in the land tenure reform is discussed The study concludes that both the negotiated and the enforced non-negotiated approaches successfully formalised customary tenure and that the negotiated approach was much better and preferable within the African context. It further concludes that the theory purporting that the indigenous people were incapable of adapting to the western forms of individual ownership was a political gimmick aimed at supporting and justifying the mandatory acquisition and formalisation of customary land for exclusive use of non-Africans. Finally the study proposes criteria, which should be followed by any country wanting to formalise customary land.