Democratizing Eminent Domain in East Africa

This World Resources Institute report examines the legal and practical application of eminent domain for the establishment of protected areas (PAs) in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. It argues that the lack of democratic procedures in land acquisition leads to legal challenges, social conflict, and the eventual degazettement of parks. The authors recommend democratizing the exercise of eminent domain through transparency, public participation, and fair compensation to ensure that protected areas are both legally secure and locally legitimate.

• Protected areas in East Africa face significant threats from government degazettement, denotification, and land-use changes, often driven by economic development goals or short-term political gains.
• In Kenya, the Moi regime used public land in protected areas as a patronage resource, resulting in at least 200,000 illegal land titles issued between 1962 and 2002, with 98 percent occurring between 1986 and 2002.
• The Ugandan government has targeted several protected areas for degazettement or land-use changes to facilitate commercial investment, including the Butamira Forest Reserve, Mabira Forest Reserve, and reserves on Bugala Island.
• Courts in East Africa have frequently ruled against the government when protected areas were established through extra-legal or unconstitutional means, though they rarely order the actual return of the land.
• Eminent domain procedures in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda are primarily executive government matters with very limited public participation in the initial decision to expropriate land.
• Compensation practices vary by country: Uganda requires full payment before acquisition, while Kenya and Tanzania only require 'prompt' payment, often leading to many displaced people never receiving their full awards.
• Tanzanian law restricts compensation to 'unexhausted improvements' and excludes 'vacant ground,' which often denies compensation to those holding customary rights rather than granted titles.
• The report recommends that eminent domain be used as a last resort for conservation, only after rejecting alternative approaches like community-based wildlife management.
• To prevent abuse and corruption, the authors propose institutionalizing democratic safeguards such as free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC), public hearings, and parliamentary approval for land acquisitions.
• The report suggests that if a government fails to pay the remaining compensation by an established date, the protected area should be degazetted and the land returned to the original occupants.

APA

Manyindo, J., Odhiambo, M. O., Nshala, R., & Veit, P. G. (2008). Democratizing Eminent Domain in East Africa. World Resources Institute. https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/uploads/protected_areas_and_property_rights.pdf

Chicago

Manyindo, Jacob, Michael Ochieng’ Odhiambo, Rugemeleza Nshala, and Peter G. Veit. Democratizing Eminent Domain in East Africa. World Resources Institute, 2008. https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/uploads/protected_areas_and_property_rights.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Manyindo |first1=Jacob |last2=Odhiambo |first2=Michael Ochieng’ |last3=Nshala |first3=Rugemeleza |last4=Veit |first4=Peter G. |title=Democratizing Eminent Domain in East Africa |publisher=World Resources Institute |date=2008 |url=https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/uploads/protected_areas_and_property_rights.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{manyindo2008democratizing, author = {Manyindo, Jacob and Odhiambo, Michael Ochieng’ and Nshala, Rugemeleza and Veit, Peter G.}, title = {{Democratizing Eminent Domain in East Africa}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2008}, url = {https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/uploads/protected_areas_and_property_rights.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }