Improving Land Tenure Administration Effectiveness in a Post-Conflict Peri-Urban Mombasa Settlement

Abstract

This article examines the effectiveness of official land administration systems in protecting land tenure in a rapidly changing post-conflict peri-urban areas in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). It explores the difficulty involved in administering land tenure in a post-conflict peri-urban settlement in SSA after conflict and land invasion and shows that conventional official land administrations systems are ill-suited to such situations. The illustrative context for this case study is Waitiki Farm, a post-conflict peri-urban settlement in Mombasa Kenya, which was invaded in 1997 during the tribal clashes that occurred in Likoni in the lead up to the 1997 General Elections. The case study is based on interviews with key informants, households, and focus group discussions. The study findings indicate the expected social, economic, and political behaviour in a post-conflict peri-urban area when the government is unwilling or unable to enforce court orders to remove land invaders. It also shows the importance of local settlement level political coalitions in land administration after conflict in peri-urban areas. It concludes that in addition to understanding the manifestation of social change in local politics, there is need for the official land administration systems to engage with these situations with a view to improving administration for continual improvement.