Mainstreaming land use planning for tenure security in rural areas is a key issue to both scholars, academia and policymakers as well as governments in most developing countries. The need for local land use decision-making for enhancing tenure security as well as trade-offs for deliberative decision-making are crucial to improving local community needs, interests and concerns. Deliberative decision-making seeks to respond to local needs, interests and concerns with legitimate and acceptable social, cultural and institutional practices.

ABSTRACT Amuru district in northern Uganda has had intense land rights violations over the past fourteen years. There have been large scale land investments for commercial agriculture and other activities with limited community engagement, In many families men have sold off family land to ‘investors’ without consultation of their wives.

In view of land’s vital importance as a foundation of societal livelihood and its position being at the heart of social and political interests and conflicts, increasing number of universities in Africa have been launching and expanding formal educational and research programs since the last two decades. The ongoing expansion of land governance educational and research programs are mainly driven by the need for the overall socio-economic development reforms at continental level in Africa.