In
underdeveloped societies the majority of people live in villages where land
plays a principal role in their lives. It provides food, building materials,
energy, employment and cash. It once provided raw materials for home-made
clothing. Therefore unequal changes in land ownership have been accompanied –
more often than not – by disputes and rebellions. History is full of many
examples in time and space which should serve as a guide to those grappling
with land problems.
In
Europe the enclosure system – peasants were replaced by sheep – was accompanied
by revolts in which many people died. Peasants who survived were impoverished
and experienced tremendous difficulties including early death – mortality rates
were higher in towns than in villages – because of unsanitary, food insecure,
stressful and overcrowded urban environments.
The
French Revolution of 1789 was triggered, inter alia, by inequalities in land
ownership which favored the clergy and nobility at the expense of peasants who
constituted the majority of French population. Land and the associated food
shortages sparked peasants’ fierce participation in the Revolution.
Land
and hunger have triggered disputes and rebellions in Latin American countries
as well. Studies of land ownership in Central America in the late 1980s reveal unequal
distribution. Ten percent of the population owned 80 percent of farmland for
export crops, whereas 80 percent of peasants did not have land to grow enough
food for their families and the number of landless people tripled between the 1960s
and 1980s. Because of these inequalities 75 percent of children were
malnourished. These inequalities and the associated hardship have triggered
serious challenges that have characterized the region’s political economy.
In
Africa land disputes have been fiercest in areas of white settlers who took
land away from indigenous populations. The stories of Algeria, Kenya, Namibia,
Southern Rhodesia – now Zimbabwe – and South Africa are still fresh in our
minds.
The
current political economy problems in Zimbabwe are related largely to land
disputes as are those in Cote d’Ivoire. The recent bloody conflicts in Kenya
have their origins in land disputes between indigenous and migrant populations
in the Rift Valley and Coastal Provinces. During negotiations for independence
minority groups in the two provinces wanted a federal system of governance to
be able to control some issues including land but were not successful. With
independence Kenyans settled anywhere in the country causing resentment in
areas of large immigrants. The contested elections results of 2007 provided a
pretext to resolve a long standing land dispute.
In
Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) there are credible reports that the
major source of instability is the struggle for land between migrants from
Rwanda especially Tutsi and indigenous Congolese communities. The settlement of
Banyarwanda into Eastern Congo from densely populated Rwanda has been resented.
The Tutsi support for Mobutu during the Eastern
Congo rebellion in the 1960s offered them a privileged position especially when
Barthelemy Bisengimana – a Tutsi refugee from Rwanda – had an influential
position in Mobutu’s government. Using this opportunity, many Tutsi in Kivu acquired
extensive land holdings including 90 percent of plantations previously owned by
Belgian farmers especially following the passing of the land law in 1973 which
legalized private land ownership.
The
arrival of more Rwanda Tutsi migrants in the 1960s aggravated the land problem.
Land grabbing reached such incredible proportions that the Land Ministry in
Kinshasa stepped in.
Findings
from Human Rights Watch (October 2007), and Gerard Prunier (2009) reveal that
many Tutsi have acquired extensive land holdings in the hope that Nkunda would
protect them. Land disputes have remained a thorny challenge to this day.
Land
disputes in Uganda have become a common feature threatening the stability of
the country. Therefore, as Uganda discusses the land bill and the East African
Federation, the voices of the people should be listened to and be heard clearly
before final decisions are taken. With 90
percent of Ugandans still relying on land for their livelihood care should be
taken to ensure they do not lose their land – that becomes a commodity for sale
– through uninformed persuasion or coercion. In whatever we do we must always
remember that we are laying a solid foundation for the stability, harmony and
prosperity of present and future generations.
[email protected], www.kashambuzi.com.