Why land dispute cases are on the rise
Clashes between farmers and pastoralists over land is an ongoing issue in the country.
What you need to know:
At the beginning of this year there were 884 cases, 78 of which were filed last December. The figure excludes Ngorongoro and Karatu districts which are notorious for land conflicts.
Arusha. Land cases have piled up in the vast Arusha region due to the shortage of staff in the district land and housing tribunals, statistics have shown.
At the beginning of this year there were 884 cases, 78 of which were filed last December. The figure excludes Ngorongoro and Karatu districts which are notorious for land conflicts.
The problem has been largely attributed to the shortage of staff as each of the tribunals has a maximum of four officials to handle the cases; two being the chairpersons and two others being the clerks.
Peres Parpai, a private advocate based in Arusha, is gravely concerned about the situation because hearings for the growing number of cases filed can be adjourned for up to four to six months due to the shortage of mediators.
“If a case is adjourned twice, the hearing will be pushed to the following year, hence denying the litigants chances of their complaints to be heard,” he said in Monduli recently during the Law Day event.
According to him, by November last year, the tribunals serving four districts in Arusha,excluding Ngorongoro and Karatu, had 890 pending cases. In December only 84 of them were sorted out.
Some of the cases filed before the district land and housing tribunals hinged on the persistent conflicts betwee livestock keepers and farmers in the absence of land demarcation to protect the interests of the two groups.
The advocate poked holes on a system of payment of fees for the tribunal through the bank because of the long queues complainants are subjected to and suggested a special window for the purpose in designated banks.
“The system of payment can also be made faster and simpler through the use of M-Pesa”, he suggested.
Mr. Parpai said although there were fewer challenges facing the Commission for Mediation and Arbitration (CMA) compared to land tribunals, its mediators and arbitrators are seeking the support of lawyers to develop suitable labour laws for the country.
He called on the Judiciary to switch to digitalise court reporting through court recording, saying the system would speed up hearing and determination of cases besides recording of court proceedings.
