NEGOTIATION BEST SOLUTION TO LAND DISPUTES IN NORTH

Feb 24, 2010

Three years after the guns fell silent in northern Uganda, the region continues to lose innocent lives in violent land wrangles. The way to justice remains dim as thousands of land cases are pending before courts of law, forcing aggrieved parties to take up arms.

By Peter Labeja

Three years after the guns fell silent in northern Uganda, the region continues to lose innocent lives in violent land wrangles. The way to justice remains dim as thousands of land cases are pending before courts of law, forcing aggrieved parties to take up arms.

Prof. Jack Nyeko-Pen-Mogi, Gulu University’s vice chancellor, describes the wrangles as “more serious than the Kony War.”

Speaking during a Juba Peace Talks Workshop at Acholi Inn in Gulu town last year, Nyeko said: “If the land issues are not handled urgently, they might cause instability in the region since the problem is shifting from family to clan level and can eventually become regional.”

Averagely, more than five cases of violent clashes over land are reported in northern Uganda in less than a month, with at least two lives lost.

Sophie Agwoko, the programme officer of Ker Kwaro Acholi, the Acholi Cultural Institution, says almost every household has been affected. “Almost all households are entangled in land wrangles”, she says. “But we are telling warring parties to sit down and talk because we believe the wrangles can be resolved peacefully through mediation of the cultural leaders.”

The road to justice
Joseph Omodonyanga, Gulu’s chief magistrate, says a number of factors have affected effective delivery of justice by the courts of law.

He says lack of tribunals and personnel to hear cases are the main reason for the backlog of cases. “Land tribunals which were charged with hearing land cases in the region closed their operations when the Government failed to maintain them.

“There was only a single land tribunal in Gulu serving the entire Acholi sub-region. Another one was in Lira to serve Lango sub-region and another in Arua to serve the entire West Nile region,” Omodonyanga says.

He adds that the tribunals were ill-equipped in terms of personnel. Each of the tribunals had only three officials which made it difficult to handle cases amidst scarce resources.

As result, the Government ammended the Land Act which gave powers to local council committees to hear land cases instead of local councils

Omodonyanga says: “The amendment created the first local council committees at the parish level (Parish Court Committee) and the second structure at the sub-county (sub-county court committees) to hear appeals from the parish land committees.”

“There are only two courts that can hear cases of land disputes.” Omodonyanga adds, “The Parish Land Committee and the Grade I Magistrate’s Court or the chief Magistrate’s Court.”

Appeals
Appeal courts have been barred from conducting fresh hearing into cases of land wrangles. They are required to analyse proceedings of lower courts through scrutinising records of proceedings. Unfortunately, over 90% of them are documented in Luo.

“When such records are forwarded to the magistrate’s court, they are translated into English. Translating also takes time and resources,” Omodonyanga says.

However, he warns that any error in translation can change the meaning of a sentence hence affecting a free and fair trial.

Omodonyanga notes that the delay of records from the lower level courts is another hurdle to justice delivery in the region. “If the chairpersons of the sub-county courts take long to send us their records, we will have no basis to conduct business.”

Corruption
Double standards have been detected in the lower courts. Omodonyanga says some rulings have disparities. He cites situations where conflicting parties have both been declared bonafide owners of the land in dispute.

Omodonyanga says the only solution to such a scenario is to order a retrial of the case. “Where there is no honesty, we order a retrial of the case in the magistrate’s court. So far, more than six sub-county court chairpersons have been arrested in relation to such offense.”

Way forward
Omodonyanga recommends mediation as the best option for mitigating the various land wrangles. “Going to court to solve land disputes is not the best option. Let’s always sit together and peacefully resolve our differences. Going to Court should be our last resorts”.

He says most land cases that go to court are referred back to traditional leaders and clan elders.

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