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Of Land and Legitimacy: A Tale of Two Lawsuits

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dc.creator Askew, Kelly
dc.creator Maganga, Faustin P.
dc.creator Odgaard, Rie
dc.date 2016-03-24T09:26:45Z
dc.date 2016-03-24T09:26:45Z
dc.date 2013-02
dc.date.accessioned 2018-04-18T11:43:20Z
dc.date.available 2018-04-18T11:43:20Z
dc.identifier Askew, K., Maganga, F. and Odgaard, R., 2013. Of land and legitimacy: a tale of two lawsuits. Africa, 83(01), pp.120-141.
dc.identifier http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/1314
dc.identifier 10.1017/S0001972012000745
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/9747
dc.description Through a comparative analysis of two recent Tanzanian lawsuits concerning pastoralist–farmer disputes over land, this article argues that the judicial system is being employed as a vehicle for legitimizing dispossession. Wealthy elites who find their efforts to acquire vast tracts of land thwarted by protective mechanisms in the Land Act No. 4 of 1999 and Village Land Act No. 5 of 1999 are turning to the courts to get what they want. Having access to deeper pockets and being able to out-lawyer and out-manoeuvre their poorer and often less-educated opponents enables elites (including the government itself) to avail themselves of the judicial system and acquire land through illegitimate means. Yet our analysis also illustrates that Tanzanian courts at times act independently of political influence and secure property rights for at least some of the dispossessed. An unusual mix of conflicting pressures and key personalities in these two cases coalesced to produce unexpected outcomes in favour of the Maasai defendants, whose land and legitimacy were on the line. Winning, however, came at considerable cost.
dc.language en
dc.publisher International African Institute
dc.subject Land and Legitimacy
dc.subject Lawsuits
dc.title Of Land and Legitimacy: A Tale of Two Lawsuits
dc.type Journal Article, Peer Reviewed


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