Land as a Human Right: A History of Land Law and Practice in Tanzania. Abdon Rwegasira. Dar es Salaam, Mkuki na Nyota, 2012. xxv + 412 pp. Paperback £34.95, ISBN 978-9987-08-152-3

Abstract

in any other country in the world, the History of Land Law in Tanzania, especially, has been evolving along the axis of So Advocate Rwegasira contends in this important contribution to Tanzanian land law scholarship. As a book intended primarily for university law students, the author presents an historical analysis of land law in Tanzania from the pre-colonial period to the present, with detailed discussion of land law principles and precedent. However, this book stands apart from the conventional historical or black letter land law textbook. Drawing upon the works of established Tanzanian land law and rights scholars, the author conceptualises the history of land law in Tanzania as a history of struggles between the landed and landless over competing land rights. This leads him to adopt his own human rights to the study of Tanzanian land law. His approach reflects upon this history of landed struggles and considers the ways in which rights principles have been interpreted in seminal cases involving the landless or marginalised. He further analyses key developments in Tanzanian law where rights and accompanying duties have been enshrined to protect the land rights of vulnerable social groups.