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1
ECO-CONFLICTS VOLUME 3 NUMBER 3
LAND REFORM, LAND SCARCITY AND POST
CONFLICT RECONSTRUCTION
A CASE STUDY OF RWANDA
Herman Musahara and C. Huggins
*
Introduction
A
frica’s Great Lakes Region has
experienced political strife, armed
conflict and population displacements
with severe humanitarian consequences.
While these events have clearly revolved
around political struggles for the control of the
state, recent research has pointed to the
significance of environmental variables as
structural causes and sustaining factors in
struggles for power in the region. Contested
rights to land and natural resources are
significant, particularly in light of land scarcity
in many areas and the frequency of population
movements. For this reason, ACTS is
conducting research on these issues in
Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic
Republic of Congo (DRC).
The current study builds on work
published by ACTS and ISS in 2002, which
concluded that the political economy of land
in Rwanda contributed to socio-political
tensions, conflict and genocide, due to the
effects of resource capture by elite groups and
landlessness in the economic collapse prior
to 1994, in the context of structural land scar-
city.
1
The average land holding at the house-
hold level has dropped from 2 hectares in
1960, to just 0.7 ha in the early 1990s.
2
In
2001, almost 60 per cent of households had
less than 0.5 ha.
The Government of Rwanda has recently
completed a long process of developing a
National land policy, which is currently being
considered by a parliamentary standing
committee. The policy emphasizes land
consolidation, grouped settlements, and
specialization and commercialization of
agriculture. Based on interviews in Rwanda
and review of secondary literature, this case
study examines the draft policy from a
perspective of conflict prevention.
3
Conflict in Rwanda
Inequality and social tensions have existed in
Rwanda for many years. Pre-colonial and co-
lonial-era political dynamics led to the politi-
cal dominance of an elite group within the Tutsi
community. On the eve of independence, the
Belgian colonial power switched support to
those advocating ‘Hutu majority rule’. The ‘so-
cial revolution’ of 1959 led to most Tutsi in
positions of power being forced or voted out,
and widespread ethnic pogroms against Tutsi
across the country. Post-independence govern-
ance came to be characterized by
exclusionary, racist state policies and political
networks, which functioned through patron-
client relations between factions of the state
elite, and contributed to poverty and griev-
ances amongst the rural poor. There were spo-
radic but unsuccessful incursions by exiled
Tutsi fighters, and periodic mobilization of
Hutu militia against Tutsi in the country.
Rwandans in exile formed the Rwandan Patri-
otic Front (RPF) and invaded the country from
Uganda on 1stOctober 1990. As the war con-
tinued, anti-Tutsi propaganda was widespread,
and militia forces carried out violent attacks
against Tutsi civilians with impunity. A peace
agreement was concluded, but within hours
of the assassination of President Habyarimana
in April 1994, officials in the government,
armed forces, police, and the civil authorities
put into action their plans for the genocide of
the Tutsi. Over 800,000 people, the vast ma-
jority Tutsi, were murdered in the space of three
months before the RPF took control of the
country.
4
The failure of the international com-
munity, including the UN, to prevent or stop
the genocide, and the alleged complicity of
some Western countries, continues to affect
relations between Rwanda and the outside
world.
5
Most Rwandans have undergone an ex-
perience of internal displacement or exile.
Those who left due to violence and repression
from 1959 onwards entered Rwanda in large
numbers in late 1994. They are generally
known as the ‘old caseload’, are almost all
Tutsi, and number about a million. Most of
those who had fled in the immediate aftermath
of the war and genocide – almost entirely Hutu
and referred to as the ‘new caseload’ – returned
in late 1996 or early 1997. These influxes re-
sulting in multiple claims of ownership for
farmlands, buildings, and agricultural and for-
est products. Government policy, guided to
some extent by the Arusha Peace Accords of
1993, has directed people to share land re-
sources, or has opened up public lands (such
as Akagera National Park) for resettlement. The
government also extended an ‘emergency’
policy of constructing villages, known in
Kinyarwanda as
imudugudu
, into a more wide-
spread settlement policy. Despite people’s gen-
eral willingness to share land and natural re-
sources, there are many land disputes at the
local (intra- and inter-household) level. At least
80 per cent of disputes reported to district ad-
ministrators are centred on land.
6
Background to the development of
the draft land policy
There were three systems regulating access to
land immediately prior to the colonial period.
In the central, eastern and southern areas con-
trolled by the central Kingdom, the
igikingi
sys-
tem governed pastoral lands. The
mwami
, the
head of state, was the holder of all land rights
and granted usufruct rights to land through lo-
cal representatives, in return for fees, payments
and labour requirements.
7
In the northwest and the ‘Hutu’ Kingdoms
of Bukunzi and Busozo, the
ubukonde
system
was dominant. Under this system, the lineage-
group of the person who first cleared a plot of
land controlled access to that land.
8
The rights
of exploitation of the land could be granted to
others in exchange for obligations and fees,
which only rarely included provision of labour.
In agricultural areas under Tutsi control,
the
isambu
system replaced the
ubukonde
sys-
tem. Instead of the lineage-group, the
mwami
became the ultimate owner of the land, which
he distributed in return for produce and provi-
sion of unpaid labour. This labour requirement
was a major difference between the two sys-
tems, and it increased the extractive power of
the state at the expense of the peasants, which
was unpopular. However, in the late 19
th
cen-
tury, grievances over land were not articulated
in ethnic terms, but rather in terms of a re-
gional, centre/periphery struggle.
9
The Belgians made ethnic distinctions
much more rigid, through racist policies and
the imposition of compulsory identification
cards which stated whether the bearer was
Hutu or Tutsi. In terms of land tenure, the Bel-
gian administration sought to enhance the
rights of individual land-users, by abolishing
Executive Summary
This Policy Brief summarizes a longer re-
port to be published by the African Centre
for Technology Studies (ACTS) and the In-
stitute for Security Studies (ISS) in Decem-
ber 2004.
It provides an analysis of
Rwanda’s draft land policy, in the context
of the structural constraints facing the
country, including acute land scarcity. It
concludes that while the land policy of-
fers several opportunities for economic de-
velopment and improved rural livelihoods,
its implementation will involve a number
of challenges and risks. Therefore, it should
be piloted in limited areas, and the results
monitored, before being applied more
widely. Also, implementation of the policy
should not be based on compulsion, and
the government should ensure that it does
not lead to increased landlessness. Civil
society organisations should be involved
in policy implementation. Further research
into the effects of HIV/AIDS on land rights
should be conducted, and the results used
to guide amendments to the policy. The
composition of the land commissions, who
will be responsible for much decision-
making over land, should include repre-
sentatives of sections of society which are
most easily marginalized. There is a need
to redefine the issue of landlessness, to
include those who have lost land through
processes of impoverishment. There is an
urgent need to evolve a workable strategy
to promote non-farm activities which
should involve regional as well as national
solutions. Overall, a more transparent dia-
logue within the country on governance
and post conflict reconstruction is impor-
tant. Effective implementation of a funda-
mental and sensitive issue such as land will
not be possible without transparency.
African Centre for Technology Studies
ECO-CONFLICTS VOLUME 3 NUMBER 3, OCTOBER 2004
An international policy research organisation
2
PREVENTING CONFLICT
the
isambu
and
igikingi
, imposing constraints
on the
ubukonde
and proposing exclusive in-
dividual rights. This contributed to a situation
in which users of
igikingi
grazing land who
had a number of cows tried to obtain ‘private’
rights to what had, until then, been a kind of
commons resource.
10
This in turn altered the
client-patron contracts governing access to
land and labour relations, causing much re-
sentment.
11
Violent conflicts erupted between
land users (clients) on the one hand, and the
land ‘owners’ (political authorities under the
mwami
, the lineage heads, and the church)
on the other hand.
Through the 1959 ‘Social Revolution’, the
post-colonial government claimed to have dis-
mantled feudal structures and created a more
equitable system of land ownership, but the
new state elite lost no time in misusing their
power to access land and cheap agricultural
labour.
Land ownership was radically disturbed
by political violence following the ‘social revo-
lution’ of 1959 and the flight of many Tutsi,
whose land was then allocated to others. A
process began of accumulation of land by an
elite, accompanied by the rise of a landless
population. By 1984, approximately 15 per
cent of the land-owners owned half of the
land.
12
Those buying land tended to be in
commerce, government, or the aid industry,
rather than full-time agriculture.
13
Legislation was passed in 1960 and 1961
to further move customary systems towards
western notions of property rights, through the
formal registration of customary rights.
Customary systems, which rely on unoc-
cupied land to provide social ‘safety nets’,
have become undermined through land scar-
city and have evolved, becoming more indi-
vidualized and monetarized. However, there
is a dearth of information regarding their cur-
rent relevance across the country.
The statutory order no 09/76 of March
1976, which remains the land law currently
in operation in Rwanda, sought to avoid the
development of a land market. Like subse-
quent efforts at legislated land reform in 1978
and 1991, many aspects of the law were
largely unimplemented. In fact, regulations
tended to bring more confusion, rather than
clarity, as they were provisional, or were ig-
nored in practice. This seems to be a combi-
nation of lack of stakeholder involvement; the
sheer technical difficulty of the task, as most
people simply did not register sales; and the
self-interest of the bureaucrats, themselves part
of the class that was most active in acquiring
land.
14
In the post-genocide reconstruction pe-
riod, the idea of development of a new land
law began in 1996 and a first concrete study
on land reform, funded by the Food and Agri-
culture Organization of the United Nations
(FAO), was conducted in 1997. This recom-
mended that plots should become legally in-
divisible in order to safeguard plot-sizes, sup-
ported the grouped settlements
(imidugudu)
programme, and commercialisation of agri-
culture. In 1998, preliminary consultative
meetings were organized throughout the
country and recommended that ‘full owner-
ship’ of land be given to all landowners. At
this time, a draft land bill was completed, but
it was decided that a policy should be put in
place before the bill was tabled.
In 2000, the Ministry of Lands, Environment,
Forestry, Water and Natural Resources
(MINITERE) began to develop a national land
policy, involving national consultations, and
consultative meetings in all provinces, largely
involving administrators at the District level.
15
The draft land policy was almost complete
by 2001, and was disseminated to a number
of civil society organisations. Their comments
were incorporated to varying degrees. In the
words of one analyst: “the government has
declared its intention to consult with the
population as widely as possible and to modify
the Policy on the basis of their views. However,
the government is very clear on the direction it
wishes to take.”
16
Also in 2001, the Poverty Reduction Strategy
Paper (PRSP) was drafted. This includes several
important elements concerning land, including
provisions that a) households should consolidate
plots to ensure that each holding is not less than
1 hectare; b) there should be a ceiling of 50 ha on
land ownership; c) all land should be registered
to improve tenure security; d) land titles will be
tradable, but not in a way that fragments plots
below 1 ha; and e) communities will be involved
in the process of allocating title.
The Vision 2020 document, which sets out
Rwanda’s vision for development, also forms a
framework for development of the land policy. It
aims to achieve ‘recapitalization’ and transforma-
tion of the rural agricultural landscape into a com-
mercialized sector.
The context: land scarcity and
distribution
Population density is today well above 350 peo-
ple per square km.
17
The effects of this can be
summarized as follows; firstly, farm holdings have
become smaller due to constraints on land avail-
ability and holdings are more fragmented. Sec-
ondly, cultivation has pushed into valley-bottom
lands and fragile, marginal lands on steep slopes
previously used for pasture and/or wood lots.
Thirdly, many households now rent land, particu-
larly households owning little land or those with
large families; and finally, fallow periods have
become shorter and cultivation periods have
grown longer, leading to a decline in soil fertil-
ity.
18
There is considerable inequality in land ac-
cess. The gini co-efficient (a measure of inequal-
ity) of land distribution has been steadily increas-
ing, and is currently 0.594.
19
As stated in the draft
land policy, a significant share of land is in the
hands of a rich elite mainly from urban areas.
20
There is little recent data available but interviews
and published reports suggest that large plots of
over 50 ha are not unusual, and that even land
under cultivation by peasants has been allocated
to individuals and consortiums for ranching and
cash cropping.
21
Several sources have indicated growing lan-
dlessness over the last two decades. In 1990, ac-
cording to some estimates, about a quarter of the
rural population was landless, and in some dis-
tricts that figure was 50 per cent.
22
HIV/AIDS is also an important factor in land
use and access patterns. The national sero-preva-
lence rate is about 11 per cent.
23
A number of
studies in Africa have identified general patterns
in rural economies affected by high rates of HIV/
AIDS infection.
24
Death and impoverishment
within households due to HIV/AIDS tends to un-
dermine the land rights of the nuclear family, par-
ticularly those of women and children. The most
pressing issue is that of inheritance after the death
of a male head-of-household, with women and
children often being dispossessed of land by rela-
tives. Conflicts over land are also associated with
HIV/AIDS-related land use changes.
25
Some policies that the Government of
Rwanda is pursuing – for very good reasons – may
in the long-run increase the risk of infection for
many people. For example, policies likely to in-
crease rural-urban migration and create pools of
rural labour in agro-industry (associated with in-
ternal migration and separation of families) are
likely to create conditions that hasten the spread
of HIV/AIDS in rural areas, unless mitigation meas-
ures are put in place.
26
In Rwanda, there are associations of people
living with HIV/AIDS, which are overwhelmingly
female in membership.
27
These associations could
be important in the struggle to defend the land
rights of people living with HIV/AIDS and their
relatives.
Aims and modalities of the draft
land policy
The recent endorsement of the land policy
by the Cabinet is an important landmark in
the history of Rwanda. It will be effective if
it safeguards the livelihoods of the rural
poor, reduces poverty, and mitigates con-
flict. Given the historical challenges to im-
plementation, it is therefore important to
identify possible constraints and limitations
to the effective implementation of the cur-
rent draft policy, while of course recogniz-
ing its strengths and the opportunities which
it presents.
In terms of rural agriculture, the most
important aspects of the policy include: re-
organization of habitat in rural areas through
grouped settlements (
imidugudu
); establish-
ment of a general master plan of land use
and land development; guided land con-
solidation; specialization of marshland us-
ers, and establishment of clear regulations
for use.
Capacity for land administration will be
augmented by 1) establishment of a Land
Centre to provide technical and adminis-
trative support to the National Land Com-
mission, as a central land data bank of all
land information in the country; and 2)
establishment of national, provincial, and
district land commissions. There will a land
office in each District with the main role of
surveying land parcels and registering land
titles. This will be done under the supervi-
sion of the District and Sector land com-
missions.
We look at several aspects of the land
policy that we consider to be particularly
significant for long-term stability and pre-
vention of conflict in Rwanda. They are: 1)
Consolidation of land, 2) Access to land for
the landless, 3) Land registration, 4) Ad-
dressing inequalities in land ownership, 5)
Grouped settlements, and 6) Land use and
environmental protection. These are by no
means the only important issues, and other
sources provide information on other as-
pects of the policy.
28
Consolidation of land
Consolidation is intended to address land
fragmentation. It is estimated that the aver-
age Rwandan household possesses 5 plots,
though in some areas, such as Ruhengeri
the average is about 10.
29
There remains a lack of clarity about
the mechanisms to be employed to ensure
that consolidation occurs - the PRSP states
that households will be ‘encouraged’; and
the policy simply states that, “one needs to
carry out the regrouping of plots”.
MINITERE personnel suggest that land con-
solidation will be focused on encouraging
formation of adjacent plots with similar
crops. However, by linking the process to
grouped settlements, the policy suggests that
it may be more comprehensive type of proc-
ess. MINITERE has yet to state how con-
solidation will bring significant improve-
ments. Possible ways include various forms
of economies of scale and mechanization.
However, none of these will bring a miracu-
lous increase in returns: indeed, research-
ers have argued that, “land consolidation
policies are unlikely to increase land pro-
ductivity significantly.”
30
Further research
is needed.
The policy suggests that consolidation
will result in some people losing their lands:
“not every one will own a registered
plot…however, those who miss out will be
compensated.” Assuming that compensa-
tion is calculated appropriately and paid on
time, there remains the question of what al-
ternatives are open to those made landless.
Many peasant households will find a move
towards non-farm livelihoods challenging,
and markets for non-agricultural goods and
3
ECO-CONFLICTS VOLUME 3 NUMBER 3
services are likely to become quickly saturated
if landlessness increases.
Monocropping on consolidated fields may
lead to increased rates of soil erosion when
compared to the inter-cropped fields com-
monly seen today.
31
Also, Rwanda has histori-
cally suffered from periods of severe and wide-
spread food insecurity.
32
If farmers are encour-
aged to introduce monocropping of cash crops,
to the detriment of more drought-resistant
crops, there may be a negative effect on food
security.
Access to Land for the Landless
Many people have become landless through
distress sales of land, or sheer land scarcity
within a family, resulting in some sons being
unable to inherit land.
33
The policy says that
landless people will benefit from a land re-
serve; however, it defines the landless specifi-
cally as ‘old case’ refugees who have returned:
Rwandans who fled the country in 1959 or later
and stayed outside the country for more than
10 years.
34
No other type of landless person is
mentioned.
It is true that this group has been severely
affected by the land problem in Rwanda. How-
ever, the issue of landlessness is much wider
than this, and will continue to expand as rela-
tive land scarcity increases. No information on
the number of ‘old case’ refugees, landless or
not, is provided in the policy. The policy is
also silent on how, and by who, the land re-
serve will be allocated: firm criteria need to
be set in place and a balance needs to be struck
between centralized authority over the proc-
ess and local authority, for example, through
the district land commissions.
The policy also states that in addition to
the ‘old case’ refugees, land from the reserve
will be given to, “those who place an applica-
tion for it, having a consistent plan of devel-
opment.” This may provide an in-road for
other landless people to apply: but this will
depend on the definition of “a consistent plan
of development.” If this is interpreted as a busi-
ness-plan for cash-crop production, for exam-
ple, then those with economic means are likely
to be given priority to access the land reserve
over those who are most in need.
Overall, there is a need to redefine the is-
sue of landlessness. A fuller exploration of the
phenomenon would inform a holistic and com-
prehensive policy on landlessness, with an ac-
countable system and clear criteria for alloca-
tion, that will not lead to social tensions and
would hence mitigate a latent source of future
conflict.
Land registration: different meanings of
tenure security
Registration of land across the country, and the
creation of a modernized land cadastre will
be a major feature of the new land policy. Al-
though land will continue to be owned by the
state, land tenure security will be achieved
through the acquisition of leases, of between
3 and 99 years duration.
35
In line with many
institutions – particularly the World Bank, for
example – MINITERE originally perceived ‘land
tenure security’ as means for farmers to access
to credit, through formal title. However, it re-
mains to be seen whether small rural parcels
of land of less than 1 ha will actually be viewed
by financial institutions as viable forms of col-
lateral, or whether farmers will be willing to
‘risk’ their lands as collateral. Also, land ten-
ure security cannot be measured objectively
but, as a production of social and psychologi-
cal processes, exists in the minds of the farm-
ers. Experience demonstrates that what most
farmers want is security from land disputes –
which typically involve members of the fam-
ily, neighbouring households, or agents of the
state.
36
This need not necessarily be a formal
title deed; the main requirement is a symbol
of mutual agreement, between the claimant,
the surrounding community, and the state, that
the rights to a particular plot will be respected.
The government of Rwanda has re-con-
ceptualized its notion of registration in prag-
matic ways. As it is practically impossible for
all households to have plots surveyed and reg-
istered in the near future, a dual system will
be established. The ‘formal’ or ‘national’ sys-
tem will be based on full cost-recovery, will
utilize accurate surveying equipment, and will
cater to those wishing to gain bank loans or
invest significant capital in the plot. The ‘in-
formal’ or ‘local’ system will use less expen-
sive mapping methods, and will be affordable.
Addressing inequalities in land ownership
A ‘ceiling’ on land holding by an individual
could address inequalities in the size of plots
held by different landowners. In an earlier draft
version of the land policy, this maximum was
set at 30 ha. However, in the latest version of
the policy, it has been dropped altogether. This
is problematic, in light of the fact that some
politically connected individuals have ac-
quired, over the last few years, land holdings
of 50 ha or more for coffee and cattle produc-
tion.
37
Gender inequality is another important
problem. In order to address gender inequities
in access to land, legislation was passed in
1999 which states that male and female
children have equal rights to inherit their
parent’s property, both prior to, and after, the
death of a parent.
38
However, there remain a
number of obstacles to effective
implementation of the law. Firstly, the law only
applies to married women: those in long-term
unmarried relationships are not covered. Many
couples do not get legally married because of
the expense, while polygamous households
are not legally recognised.
39
Secondly, the land
law stipulates that women can inherit land as
guided by the inheritance law; while the
inheritance law (Article 90) states that the land
law will further spell how women can inherit
land. This does not clarify the position.
Interviews with local administrators in
rural areas suggest that with the extra pressure
on the land represented by the entry of women
as legitimate inheritors of family land, the ban
on sub-division of plots smaller than two
hectares will be difficult to enforce.
40
Clearly,
gender-based inequalities cannot merely be
‘legislated away’. Monitoring of the
implementation of the law, by researchers who
have experience in gender issues and are
aware of the effects of the war and genocide
on gender relations, will be essential in order
for it to have a positive impact.
Grouped settlements
In accordance with Vision 20/20, the draft land
policy clearly states that, ‘villagization is the
one and only method allowing for utilization
and proper management of land considering
the scarcity of land’. Currently around a quar-
ter of the total population lives in villages.
There are two important questions: first,
whether grouped settlements will increase pro-
ductivity; and second, whether they it will be
implementable: the overall financial cost of
such a radical programme needs to be esti-
mated.
It is argued that the proximity of houses in
imidugudu
will facilitate cooperation and im-
prove agricultural productivity. However, there
exists little firm evidence to suggest that this is
the case. Senior agricultural specialists at the
University of Rwanda believe that in general,
it seems that productivity in
imidugudu
is ac-
tually less than in non-villagized areas.
Land commissions are charged by the
policy to oversee the grouped settlement
policy. In order to do this properly, the com-
position of the land commissions should in-
clude members of those ‘voiceless’ sections
of society who are most easily marginalized
as well as those with greater technical and
planning abilities. The draft Land Law speci-
fies only that MINITERE will set the mission,
programme, and membership for the provin-
cial and district land commissions.
Land use and environmental protection
The policy cites lack of agricultural
‘specialization’ as an obstacle to effective land
management, with reference to the appropriate
choice of crops relative to soil type, altitude,
and regional location. The policy argues that,
“proper management of national land
resources should be based on master plans”.
It is true that transformation of the rural sector
is crucial. However, the predominance of
master plans, in the absence of robust multi-
sectoral systems for popular consultation and
participation in decision making, could
undermine the livelihood strategies which
have allowed Rwandan peasants to make a
living on their small plots. These include
strategies to improve soil fertility, reduce the
risk of total crop failure by cultivation of a
variety of crops, and to reduce the impacts of
fluctuating cash crop prices, by simultaneous
cultivation of food crops. The rational nature
of these diversified cropping patterns should
not be ignored by policy-makers.
The management of marshlands is a vital
issue. By the late 1990s, the marshes had come
to provide about a fifth of the national food
production.
41
According to interviews, the
poorest households are often allowed to culti-
vate for free.
42
The draft Land Policy says that
the state will impose the cultivation of particu-
lar crops, depending on the location of the
region. Large-scale commercial activities are
likely to be prioritized. If so, issues such as
working conditions on farms and transparency
of land allocation will be important.
Conclusions and recommendations
The draft land policy offers many opportuni-
ties for Rwanda. However, a great deal remains
to be clarified prior to implementation. There
are no easy solutions. Therefore, the trade-offs
and risks involved in land tenure reform should
be spelled out in order to enable discussion
and true consensus building. Implementation
of policy should be informed by constant moni-
toring.
Short-term recommendations:
1. The land policy should be piloted in
limited areas, and the results monitored,
before being applied more widely. Based
on the pilot experiences, the government
should be ready to amend the land policy.
2. Implementation of the land policy should
not be based on compulsion, and the
government should ensure that
implementation of the policy does not lead
to increased landlessness.
3. Systems should be put in place for effec-
tive consultation with various line Minis-
tries, the Provincial and District adminis-
tration, and which will be instrumental in
drawing up the more detailed regulations,
which will guide policy implementation.
4. Civil society organisations should be in-
volved in policy implementation, espe-
cially awareness raising and dissemination
of the key aspects of policy; capacity build-
ing; and monitoring of the socio-economic
and gender impacts of land consolidation
and villagisation.
5. Further research into the effects of HIV/
AIDS on land rights, particularly for
women and children, should be con-
ducted, and the results used to guide
amendments to the policy.
6. The composition of the land commissions
should include representatives of those
‘voiceless’ sections of society who are most
easily marginalized as well as those with
greater technical and planning abilities.
7. Overall, there is a need to redefine the is-
sue of landlessness, to include those who
have lost land through processes of im-
4
PREVENTING CONFLICT
For more information, please
contact:
African Centre for Technology Studies
ICRAF Campus
United Nations Avenue, Gigiri
P.O. Box 45917
Nairobi, Kenya
Tel: 254 (2) 524710
Fax: 254 (2) 524701/524001
E-mail: acts@cgiar.org
The views and opinions expressed
in this report are the authors’ own
and do not necessarily reflect or
represent the position of ACTS or
USAID.
The African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS) is a Nairobi-based science,
technology and environment policy IGO that generates and disseminates new
knowledge through policy analysis and outreach. The Centre’s mission is to
strengthen the capacity of African countries and institutions to harness science
and technology for sustainable development.
ACTS strives to rationalize scien-
tific and technological information to enable African countries make effective
policy choices for improved living standards. ACTS works with partners and
networks including academic and research institutions, national governments,
UN bodies, regional and international processes and NGOs. ACTS’ research and
capacity building activities are organized in five programmatic areas: Biodiversity
and Environmental Governance; Energy and Water Security; Agriculture and Food
Security; Human Health; and Science and Technology Literacy. Its member states
are: Kenya, Malawi, Malta, Uganda and Ghana. The World Agroforestry Centre
(ICRAF) and the Third World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) are also founding
members of ACTS.
* Herman Musahara is a lecturer at the
University of Rwanda, and a member of
LandNet Rwanda Chapter
Christopher Huggins is a Research Fel-
low at the African Centre for Technol-
ogy Studies (ACTS).
poverishment. An accountable system for
allocation of land to the landless should
be established, with clear criteria for allo-
cation.
8. A more transparent dialogue within the
country on governance and post conflict
reconstruction is important, particularly in
light of the increasing economic and po-
litical dominance of a small elite.
43
Effec-
tive implementation of a fundamental and
sensitive issue such as land will not be
possible without transparency.
9. There are large gaps in capacity between
a) urban-based NGOs and rural organisa-
tions, and b) national and international
organisations. It is important to build the
capacity of local NGO networks to advo-
cate for the land rights of the poor.
10. There is an urgent need to evolve a work-
able strategy to promote non-farm activi-
ties, based on realistic projections, rather
than an overly optimistic model, because
of the large number of people who may
become landless in the near future. This
should involve regional as well as national
solutions, such as EAC, COMESA, AU.
Notes
1. Bigagaza, J; Abong, C; and Mukarubuga, C.
Land scarcity, distribution and conflict in
Rwanda, in Lind, J and Sturman, K (eds.)
Scarcity and Surfeit: The Ecology of Africa’s
Conflicts,
ACTS Press, Nairobi / Institute for
Security Studies, Pretoria. 2002, pp.85-156:
121.
2. Kairaba (2002) and Bigagaza
et al
(2002).
3. Because of the overwhelmingly rural nature
of Rwandan society, this study concentrates
on rural issues.
4. The government of Rwanda gives a figure of
937,000 people.
5. See Melvern, L. (2000)
A people Betrayed:
The Role of the West in Genocide in Rwanda
.
Zed books.
6. See e.g. University of Rwanda (forthcoming);
De Lame, D. (1996)
Une Colline entre Mille
Ou me calme avant le tempete:
Transformations et Blocages du Rwanda
Rurale
. Musee Royale de L’Afrique Centrale,
Tervuren. The National Ombusdan reported
that the majority of cases received concern
land disputes and settlement issues (see
Kazoora, Moses, ‘Ombudsman Meets District
Officials’,
The New Times
, Kigali, 16-18
February, 2004).
7. Andre, C. (1998). The term
ibikingi
is
preferred by some, such as Prunier (1994)
8. In the process, the Twa were pushed from
their customary homes and left with the
remaining pockets of forest.
9. Prunier (1996).
10. Nkurikiyimfura, J-N., (1994)
Le Gros Betail
et la Societe Rwandaise
, L’Harmattan, Paris,
cited in Prunier (1994).
11. Uvin (1996) points out that throughout this
entire period, and ever since, the
Bazungu
(Europeans) have effectively formed a ‘fourth
tribe’ in Rwanda: and have consistently
enjoyed the highest standards of living in
Rwanda.
12. National Agricultural Survey, 1984, cited in
Uvin, P.
Aiding Violence: The Development
Enterprise in Rwanda
; Kumarian Press.
(1998).
13. Uvin, P.
Aiding Violence: The Development
Enterprise in Rwanda
; Kumarian Press.
(1998).
14. See Uvin, P.
Aiding Violence: The
Development Enterprise in Rwanda
;
Kumarian Press. (1998).
15. Interviews, Butare Province; and Bledsoe, D.
(2004)
Trip Report for MINITERE
. RDI
16. Jones, L. Giving and Taking Away: The
Difference between Theory and Practice
Regarding Property in Rwanda. 2003. In
Leckie, S.
Returning Home:
Housing and
Property Restitution Rights for Refugees and
Displaced Persons
. Transnational Publishers.
New York. (2003).
17. Baechler, G Violence through environmental
discrimination. Academic Kluwer. (1999).
18. Clay, Kampayana and Kayitsinga.
Inequality
and the emergence of non-farm employment
in Rwanda
MSU/MINAGRI. 1996.
19. Republic of Rwanda (2002)
A Profile of
Poverty in Rwanda
. MINECOFIN, Kigali
20. See Republic of Rwanda Ministry of Lands
(2004).
21. Interviews with CSOs, Kigali, April 2004, and
Human Rights Watch.
Uprooting the Rural
Poor
. Washington D.C. (2001).
22. See SIDA (2004)
A Strategic Conflict Analysis
for the Great Lakes Region
. SIDA Division
for Eastern and Western Africa.
23. Kornfield et al.
Living with AIDS in Rwanda:
A Study in Three Provinces.
John Hopkins
University. (2002).
24. See e.g. Loevinsohn, M. and Gillespie, S. HIV/
AIDS, Food Security and Rural Livelihoods:
Understanding and Responding.
Renewal
Working Paper
No. 2. IFPRI/ISNAR, 2003;
Strickland, R.S. To Have and to Hold: Wom-
en’s Property and Inheritance Rights in the
Context of HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Working Paper. International Centre for Re-
search on Women/ The Global Coalition on
Women and AIDS. June 2004.
25. Kamusiime, H., Obaikol, E., and Rugadya,
M.
Integrating HIV/AIDS in the Land Reform
Process
. Associates for Development, Kam-
pala. (2004).
26. Loevinsohn, M. and Gillespie, S. HIV/AIDS,
Food Security and Rural Livelihoods: Under-
standing and Responding.
Renewal Working
Paper
No. 2. IFPRI/ISNAR. (2003).
27. Kornfield et al.
Living with AIDS in Rwanda:
A Study in Three Provinces
. John Hopkins
University. (2002).
28. See e.g. documents by LandNet Rwanda,
MINTERE/DFID, and Oxfam GB, available
online at http://www.oxfam.org.uk/
what_we_do/issues/livelihoods/landrights/
africa_east.htm.
29. Andrea, Catherine. 2003. “Custom,
Contracts and Cadastres in North-West
Rwanda,” in Tor A. Benjaminsen & Christian
Lund (eds.),
Securing Land Rights in Africa
.
London: Frank Cass. Cited in Bledsoe, D.
(2004).
30. Blarel, B., Hazell, P., Place F., and J. Quiggin.
The Economics of Farm Fragmentation:
Evidence from Ghana and Rwanda.
World
Bank Economic Review
, Vol. 6 No. 2. (1992).
31. Chemonics International Inc. (2002)
Rwanda:
Quality and Environmental Management In-
centives for Agricultural Trade
. USAID.
32. Frequent periods of famine have been re-
corded in the history of Rwanda: 1890, 1895,
1887-98, 1900-1903, 1904-08, 1909, 1910,
1911, 1912, 1916-18, 1921-22, 1924-26,
1927, 1928-29, 1943 (Bachler 1999 citing
Nahimana 1993).
33. Andre C., Plateau, J-P.
Land Relations Under
Unbearable Stress: Rwanda Caught in the
Malthusian Trap
. Centre des Recherché en
Economie du Developpement Namur, Bel-
gium. (1995).
34. Section 5.1.2.3 of the draft land policy.
35. Draft Land Law, May 2004.
36. Bledsoe, D.
Republic of Rwanda Land Policy
and Law. Trip Report: Findings and Recom-
mendations
. RDI/USAID/ MINITERE. (2004)
.
37. Interviews, Kigali, April 2003; April 2004. The
draft land policy also mentions “the
increasing hold of the urban elite over rural
land”.
38. Law to Supplement Book 1 of the Civil Code
and to Institute Part 5 Regarding Matrimonial
Regimes, Liberalities, and Successions.
39. Children of polygamous marriages will also
be excluded from legal inheritance rights.
Burnet, J. (2001).
40. Interview with land specialist in Kigali, May
2004.
41. Van de Gisien, N. and Andreini, M. (1997)
Legal Quagmires: Wetland Use and
Development in Rwanda and Zimbabwe, in
Law and Anthropology. International
Lawbook for Legal Anthropology
. No 9; cited
in Pottier, J. (Re)
Imagining Rwanda
.
University of Cambridge Press. (2002)
.
42. Pottier, J. (2002).
43. This is not a reference to any particular ethnic
group, but rather to a small group of powerful,
politically connected individuals based
largely in Kigali.
Andre C. Land access, policy and reform in Rwanda. (mimeo) 1998
