Land grabbers, and the fight against them

Yesterday I had the privilege of meeting with the staff at the Kampala Field Office of International Justice Ministries (IJM). I’d first heard about IJM through my daughter Rozzie who has become increasingly involved in their work since she started at Durham University, and became a student rep for them (although that’s probably not the right terminology!).

IJM’s overall focus is against violence and exploitation of the poor and marginalized groups. Those who can’t access the usual justice systems due to lack of money, or education, or because they are living in such fear and oppression that they feel they have no escape route.

As well as having main offices in USA, UK, Germany, Australia and the Netherlands, IJM also has 20 Field Offices, and these are where the ‘action’ takes place. Different field offices will have different foci, depending on the location and what the issues are specific to that place.

So, in SE Asia, the focus is on trafficking and the sex trade; in India the focus is on slavery and bonded labour; in Nairobi there is a double focus of police corruption, and child defilement. In Kampala, the focus is on land grabbing and property rights, particularly for widows and orphans.

Apparently, a relatively common practice that leaves many rural widows and orphans living in fear of their lives, is that on the death of the man of the house, other family members will turn up and demand that the deceased’s land is now their rightful property rather than that of the widow or his children.

In a good situation, the widow / orphans will be allowed to stay and work the land and continue their life. But in many cases this isn’t so, and a whole raft of means are used by those claiming to now own the land to get their hands on it –

fraud and forgery of required documents to prove alleged ownership, intimidation, crop spraying to ruin the harvest, arson of buildings, spreading malicious rumours about the widow to incite hatred amongst the neighbours, physical attacks…..the list is horribly long, and starts even at the graveside as the deceased is being laid to rest.

Indeed whilst I was at the office yesterday, one perpetrator that IJM had been involved in catching was up in court pending trial. One of the IJM staff had gone to court to ensure that he doesn’t receive bail whilst awaiting the trial, due to the horrific machete attacks that he had already inflicted on the widow he was trying to evict – an attack that he had vowed to continue when he was released.

As I heard more it became clear just how deep-seated the problem is, and thus what an essential and much-needed approach it is that IJM are bringing to the picture.

Apparently, although there is a Ugandan law that states that widows and orphans shall not be turned off their land when the husband / father dies, this area of law is not even taught in police training, so if a widow was to go seeking help, as far as the police are concerned, no crime is being committed regarding land-grabbing, and all they might do is take interest if physical violence is involved.

Add to that the corruption that is evident within some of the people in power, and the chaos of the law courts that means that files can be lost for years as there is no proper filing system, and the underlying belief by some that land is passed down the male line, and the very complicated (and unwritten) land-rights system, and the illiteracy of many, and the lack of paperwork to prove land rights etc – in some ways its no wonder that things are as they are.

But that doesn’t mean they are right, and IJM is getting involved at many levels to make a difference. It is helping victims, it is bringing perpetrators to court, it is getting involved in police training schools, it is speaking at high-level police and legal forums, it is helping develop efficient filing systems for the courts.

And it is doing all this in the pursuit of justice – justice for the poor and broken, for the widows and orphans.

IJM’s model is to support the thousands so as to help the millions ie they focus on one particular community where the problem is rife, and do all required to make  a significant impact there, and then use that as a demonstration of a better and more effective practice that can then be rolled out across the region. It is a brilliant model as it means they aren’t spread too thinly, it means they can make a big impact, and it means they can be true to their word and actually help with setting up the systems rather than just telling others what to do and then moving on.

It also means they can do the individual cases, and give the follow-through that is required to ensure the justice achieved is long-term rather than short-term.

Amos 5:24 says ‘Let Justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-ending stream’. We can all do our bit to help that happen, and it has been a privilege and inspiration to see the lengths to which IJM staff are making that happen here in Kampala, and around the world.

May God bless their work again and again