Land Law Reform in Eastern Africa: Traditional or Transformative?

Patrick McAuslan MBE is Professor of Law at Birkbeck College, University of London

• Introduction: The general theme and approach of the book; Chapter 1: The colonial land legal heritage of all the countries in the region; Chapter 2: Why the lack of any land reform; Chapter 3: Individualising land tenure in Kenya; Chapter 4: The villagisation approach in Tanzania; Chapter 5: The changed global intellectual climate to land law reform; Chapter 6: Land law reform in Zanzibar; Chapter 7: Land law reform in Mozambique; Chapter 8: Land law reform in Uganda; Chapter 9: Land law reform in Tanzania; Chapter 10: Land law reform in Somaliland; Chapter 11: Land law reform in Rwanda; Chapter 12: Land law reform in Kenya; Chapter 13: Reforms to urban planning laws: a regional perspective; Chapter 14: Gender and land law reform; Chapter 15: Conclusion on the era of reform.

Land Law Reform in Eastern Africa offers a wealth of scholarly analysis and informed opinion. Patrick McAuslan... draws on his wide experience as an international consultant to produce a very useful, well-researched study. - Alec McEwen for Geomatica (Vol 67, No.4, 2013)All of East Africa, law students, members of the judiciary – including Kenya’s Chief Justice, Willy Mutunga – deans of law schools, government ministers, and UN officials have been taught by McAuslan, worked with him, and been profoundly influenced by his writing... As such the book forms an important record, for scholars of land politics, of the rise and rise of land law reform in Africa. But more than this, McAuslan provides a wide-ranging review of the most important themes in land law in the region, a frank assessment of issues he might have tackled differently when advising on statutory reform, and a clear agenda for future research. - Ambreena Manji for Journal of Law and Society (Vol 41, No. 2, June 2014)There is an enormous amount of rich, original material here, based both on the author’s extensive first-hand experiences in all the countries covered (bar Mozambique), and his knowledge of the scholarly literature. - Robin Palmer for African Affairs