FEATURES OF LAND CONFLICTS IN POST CIVIL WAR RWANDA

Abstract

Land confl icts in Rwanda have attracted particular attention because they have both environmental and political causes. This paper attempts to shed light on the nature of land confl icts in present-day Rwanda based on popular justice records and interviews collected in two rural areas. From the analyses of these data, two types of land confl ict can be distinguished. The fi rst type consists of those among family members. Given that land is the most important asset for ordinary rural households, its inheritance often brings about confl icts between right-holders. Those of the second type are triggered by political change. Impacts of the two national-level violent confl icts in Rwanda, the “social revolution” just before independence and the civil war in the 1990s, are of tremendous signifi cance in this context. The military victory of the former rebels in 1994 caused a massive return of Tutsi refugees, who were offi cially permitted to acquire land from the original inhabitants. Although no serious protestation against this policy has occurred thus far, it has produced various land confl icts. Dealing with potential grievances among original inhabitants is an important challenge for the present government.