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Contemporary waves of large scale land acquisitions for commercial production in developing countries in Africa and other parts of the world have been branded as ‘land grabs’ by many scholars, media and activists. Some scholars have describe this phenomena as the “new scramble for Africa” (Moyo and Yeros, 2011). However, others have refuted such a description on the grounds that the current land deals are being negotiated by sovereign African states in the exercise of powers that they have under national laws (Odhiambo, 2011). The Land Equity Movement in Uganda defines a land grab as the accumulation of land holdings through illegal and or illegitimate means, or simply as deliberately and illegally taking away someone else’s land rights (LEMU 2009:1). This definition was qualified by Chambi and Baha (2011) as there are incidences whereby land acquisitions in light of the domestic policy frameworks and the legal system are sanctioned.
The most recent definition of a land grab was given by the Tirana declaration of the International Land Coalition, which says it involves acquisitions or concessions that are one of the following: (i) In violation of human rights, particularly the equal rights of women; (ii) not based on Free, Prior and Informed Consent of the affected land-users; (iii) not based on a thorough assessment, or are in disregard of social, economic and environmental impact, including the way they are gendered; (iv) not based on transparent contracts that specify clear and binding commitments about activities, employment and benefits sharing, and; (v) not based on effective democratic planning, independent oversight and meaningful participation (ILC,2012).
This paper discusses two cases using the framework definition by Tirana Declaration to establish the existance of land grabbing in Tanzania.
