Land Rights in the Context of Post War Northern Uganda: The Case of Amuru District, Uganda

Much academic and policy thinking about post war reconstruction has stressed the importance of resolving land disputes as part of a wider resettlement proc-ess of formerly displaced people. This is because for mainly agrarian societies, access and entitlement to land plays a key role in the resettlement process and in enabling vulnerable rural returnees to derive a more secure livelihood. This study selected the case of Amuru Sub-county in Northern Uganda (formerly part of Gulu district), an area in which land disputes are rampant. This study focuses on how existing legal and institutional frameworks are handling land disputes in the case of post war Amuru Sub-county. The study explored the factors that contributed to different kinds of land disputes and how these were being handled. Findings revealed that local council courts were vital to resolv-ing land disputes, though the process was characterized by a number of irregu-larities, which sometimes led to miscarriage of justice. Most local institutional actors were not familiar with land laws or land rights, and complex multiple systems of tenure in some areas complicated the task of resolving land dis-putes. Finally, the study found that magistrate’s courts play a vital role, but were slowed by the overwhelming work burden of their staff yet the decisions of this court are respected by the people. Especially in the case of more vulner-able complainants, specific challenges were identified in addressing land dis-putes; the main was the high cost of accessing justice. The study concluded that more critical attention needs to be paid in future to specific land tenure arrangements, land boundaries and registration, land ownership and user rights, especially in relation to poorer households, within a post war district like Amuru and other similar settings. Land claims of large numbers of formerly displaced people have continued to pose a challenge in realizing secure and just land rights.