Abstract
The present study assessed the roles of Village Land Councils (VLC) in mitigating land conflicts before they got out of their control. Data was collected through questionnaire surveys, key informant interviews, and document reviews. A total of 136 participants were involved. The qualitative and quantitative data were analyzed using content analysis and SPSS, respectively. Findings show that village land councils had a minimal role in mitigating land conflicts due to the low literacy level of their members, a lack of VLC capacity building, a lack of chain of command in the conflict mediation and resolution process, biased decisions, ethnism, and corruption. As a result, communities use public courts of law to resolve land conflicts, contrary to the directives of the Village Land Act of 1999. It is concluded that, despite the shortcomings of the Village Land Act, village land councils that were designed to conduct reconciliation meetings and be village courts for reconciliation at the village level have failed to achieve the set objectives. The study recommend a review of the Village Land Act, capacity building for VLC members, setting secondary level education as one of the eligibility criteria for council membership, and weeding out corruption.