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“I Won’t Make Peace While There’s an Issue over Ancestral Land”: A Transitional Process of Land Justice Among the Îgembe of Kenya

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 September 2025

Shin-ichiro Ishida Open the ORCID record for Shin-ichiro Ishida [Opens in a new window]
Shin-ichiro Ishida*
Affiliation:
Department of Social Anthropology, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Hachioji-shi, Tokyo, Japan
*
Email: chirosh@tmu.ac.jp
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Abstract

This study explores the complexities of land formalization and the ongoing struggles for land justice among the Îgembe of the Kenyan Central Highlands. It begins by reviewing the prevailing argument that the formalization of land rights contributes to socio-economic growth and tenure security in the Global South. The study highlights the relational nature of rights in different contexts in African countries and discusses both the evidence and the scepticism surrounding land formalization. While the aim was to restore land rights to local people from colonial powers, the introduction of land registration in Kenya allowed political elites to appropriate land. The Îgembe people, having experienced land injustice in their local socio-historical context, have navigated the complexities of land disputes using indigenous institutions alongside state legal processes. I argue that success in land disputes often comes from a combination of personal courage and the use of both indigenous and formal legal frameworks.

Keywords

land justiceland registrationindigenous lawlegal pluralismKenya

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Asian Journal of Law and Society , First View , pp. 1 - 18
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press in association with Shanghai Jiao Tong University

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References

Case cited

Francis M’Mûkiri M’Mûcheke v Land Adjudication Officer Îgembe District & 3 others; Thadeuas Mûtura Jeremiah (Interested Party), Environment and Land Court at Meru, Judicial Review E006 of 2022.Google Scholar
Joses Matî M’Mauta v Chief Michael Mûrûngî & others, High Court at Meru, Civil Case 71 of 2010.Google Scholar
Doris Kamami v Peter Kimani M’Ndaka & another, Environment and Land Court at Meru, Civil Appeal 37 of 2011.Google Scholar
Methodist Church in Kenya Trustees Registered v Attorney General, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Permanent Secretary, Internal Security, Commissioner of Police, Director of Medical Services, District Commissioner, Meru North District, High Court at Meru, Petition 4 of 2010.Google Scholar

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