Legal Issues Concerning Customary Land Rights and State Legislation Conflict in Uganda and Cameroon
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The research investigates the legal conflicts which arise between traditional land rights and governmental land regulations in Uganda and Cameroon, where most land remains unregistered. The problem statement establishes that rural communities face permanent exposure to danger because statutory regulations treat them as "de facto squatters" who lack legal recognition of their ancestral land. The study aims to investigate how present legal systems fail to safeguard customary land rights while assessing how procedural protections help maintain these rights during international agricultural investments. The research employs a doctrinal approach to conduct an organized examination of constitutional laws, land regulations, and court decisions across both legal systems. The results show that Uganda's 1995 Constitution acknowledges customary land rights but allows their decline through freehold conversion because Cameroon's 1974 Ordinances grant the State complete control over land while disregarding communal land rights. The study shows that existing laws function as instruments for land theft, and it calls for immediate changes to establish customary land rights equal to private property rights, which will protect social order and land ownership rights.
Source: Afrocentric Legal Review
Institutions: East African University, University of Bahr El-Ghazal
Language: English
Topic: Land Rights and Reforms
Subfield: Soil Science
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W7225451566