Abstract

Tanzanian land tenure laws define who holds which pieces of land and under what conditions, which sometimes results in conflicts among various landholders. This Article cross-sectionally examines the extent to which land laws impede the resolution of land disputes and the nature of the challenges faced by landholders. At local levels, the land dispute settlement structures are devoid of the power to effectively make decisions, resulting in all the cases being referred to courts of law leading to a massive backlog due to legal technicalities. The mediatory spirit that Village Land Councils are enjoined to apply is equally undermined by executive interference, lack of personnel, and village-level corruption, leading to underutilization. The resource base and human capital capacity of Village Land Councils need to be re-assessed in order to strengthen it by giving the institutions more muscle and teeth to dispose of land disputes in their areas of jurisdiction.

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