Role of Uganda Police Land Desks on Conflict Management in Wakiso and Mukono Districts

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to examine the role of Uganda police land desks in conflict management in Wakiso and Mukono districts. Methodology: The research adopted a cross sectional and descriptive survey research designs which involving both qualitative and quantitative studies. The study population consisted of community members in Wakiso and Mukono districts who were affected by (victims of) land conflicts; Police land desks officials and the district land boards with purposive and stratified sampling used to select them. A sample of 385 respondents was used and questionnaires, interview guides, focus group discussion and documentary review were used to collect data with both SPSS and content analysis was used to analyze the field data. Findings: According to the findings from the field, respondents agreed that police land desk in Mukono and Wakiso district carried out sensitizing of communities on crimes associated with land wrangles and their penalties as represented with 26.75% of respondents. In addition, police land desk in Mukono and Wakiso districts expressed hearing of crimes associated with land wrangles as represented with 30.65% of respondents. Also to note, police land desk controls eviction of people from their land as represented with 27.27% of respondents. Police land desk department authorizes the protection of sites where land wrangles are taking place in the district of both Mukono and Wakiso, this was represented with 27.79% of respondents. Police land desk in their role in conflict management, majority of 70% of the respondents believe that the police are ineffective. Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: findings from the study would shed light on how police land desks are developing and identify the determinants of this development, and the implication of the development processes on land conflict management. Further findings would offer different experiences of the land desks both in Uganda police and elsewhere in the world and validate the need for long-term processes to address some of the critical barriers to achieving justice especially women, children among others trying to enforce their land rights, as opposed to short-term projects or work on individual cases.