Abstract:
The study is about assessing the effectiveness of Ward Tribunal in Solving Land Disputes in
Tanzania as case study carried out at Karatu district in Arusha region. The study’s aimed at examine
the sources of land disputes, determine the contribution of tribunal measures on just and amicable
settlement of land disputes and to investigate on whether the mechanism used for enforcement of
measures help to bring peace and harmony to the parties involved in land disputes at Karatu. The
study was guided by land conflict theory by Karl Max with assumption that economic organization
particularly the ownership of the property determines the organization of the rest of the society. The
struggle for ownership of scarce resources through class structure inherent in the economic
organization is likely to create revolutionary class conflicts. The study used both probability and non-
probability sampling procedures to draw up sample size of 100 respondents. The data for this study
was collected by using questionnaire, structured interview and focused group discussion. The
collected data were analyzed by using content and descriptive statistics techniques. Findings show
that majority of land disputes cases at Karatu have been influenced by land boundary conflicts,
fighting over land inheritance, and lack of land legal ownership documents and destruction of ones
properties on land. Furthermore ward tribunals have been effective in resolving land disputes at
Karatu and the study recommends that understanding historical background of the area is an
efficient way in creating good land policies to avoid and solve land disputes.
