Circumstances Behind Land Conflict in Wakiso and Mukono Districts

Abstract

Purpose: To examine the circumstances behind land conflict in Wakiso and Mukono districts. Methodology: The research adopted a cross sectional and descriptive survey research design involving both qualitative and quantitative studies where both purposive and stratified random sampling methods were used in selecting respondents (Police land desk officers, district land board for purposive and others like victims of land conflict were under focused focus group comprising of 8 to 10 individuals with a sample of 385 respondents being used whereas both SPSS and content analysis were used to analyze the field data. Findings: The findings indicate that weaknesses in the police force to investigate and gather evidence over land conflicts in a timely manner as presented by mean 4.01 std. deviations 2.01, also courts depended on investigations by the police to try cases as represented by mean 3.79 std. deviations 1.187. It was also found out that population growth in Uganda has the fastest growing population in the world, therefore much land that isn't occupied by people. The need for land has increased its value making it a very important resource than it was many years ago as shown by mean score of 4.64 Std. Deviation 2.097. In addition, inefficiency and confusion in all the country's land registries as shown by mean score of 4.90 Std. Deviation 2.010. Lastly, high political interference where court orders are often times not respected by politicians this was represented with mean 4.03 and a Sdt. Deviation 2.0 Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: by a matter of fact Mukono and Wakiso district surrounds the capital city Kampala; increase in demand for land would be on the rise resulting from increased population from the city towards these districts. Therefore, police land desks are developing and identify the determinants of this development, and the implication of the development processes on land conflict management, Understanding the bases of land conflicts, and by unbundling these land conflicts by type, the study will shed light on the comparative impact of different conflict types on national budget. There would be ideal situations to share experiences and advocate collectively for equity in access to land, use and distribution among beneficiaries.