A Journey into the Vibrant Mbeere Culture
Part 1: The Land of Promise and Uncertainty
Once upon a time, nestled in the breathtaking southeastern region of Mount Kenya, a remarkable community thrived, known as the Mbeere. These Bantu people, with their rich cultural heritage, have long been guardians of a land steeped in tradition and natural wonders.
Our journey begins in the early 1960s when the Mbeere, with great anticipation, caught wind of an upcoming program that would bring about significant changes in land ownership. This program, known as land reform, had already made its mark in several regions across Kenya. With the promise of enhanced security through title deeds and the potential for agricultural loans, the Mbeere eagerly awaited its implementation. Little did they know that this transformative process would also sow seeds of uncertainty and insecurity.
The year was 1970 when the Mbeere formally became the focal point of the land reform program. On that fateful day of August 21st, their land was declared a land adjudication area. The subsequent events unfolded like a captivating drama, as boundaries were demarcated, disputes settled, and individual farmers were granted discrete parcels of land along with registered title deeds. The winds of change blew across the Mbeere landscape, and with them came social conflicts that tested the very fabric of their existence.
To understand the magnitude of these changes and the impact they had on the Mbeere community, we must delve into the depths of their social organization and traditional modes of land tenure. Age and descent emerge as critical principles shaping their society. Age-sets, once the backbone of military and political functions, had gradually faded away. However, the principle of patrilineal descent continued to hold sway, forming the basis for corporate kin groups known as lineages.
Within this intricate tapestry of lineage organization, larger non-corporate kin groups, clans, and societies interweaved. While the Mbeere clans were divided into non-exogamous moieties, their collective actions were hindered by size and dispersion. The land, often referred to as “clan land,” was indeed held by single lineage segments or, at most, a few segments within a neighborhood. It was not distributed uniformly across the entire clan’s territory.
In the heart of Mbeere lies Nguthi sub-location, a fertile and densely populated administrative area. This thriving region borders the lands of Embu and Chuka Meru, standing as a testament to the Mbeere’s deep connection to the land and their ancestors. Here, scattered homesteads formed the basic unit of living, with senior males, their wives, unmarried children, and married sons with their families occupying numerous huts. These dispersed homesteads, in turn, gave rise to parishes, loosely organized territorial units that united for mutual defense and ancestral veneration.
Political integration beyond the local level was rare in Mbeere’s traditional polity. Authority resided within lineages, parishes, and neighborhoods, with lineage elders assuming control when conflicts arose. Disputes, however, were resolved through ad-hoc assemblies of elders rather than a standing council. As the colonial era ushered in a degree of political centralization, Mbeere found themselves integrated into a modern nation-state, governed by a hierarchical system of officials.
Despite the changes brought about by colonization and subsequent integration, lineage organization remained remarkably stable in regulating land holding. The land, initially controlled by lineage representatives, was allocated to homesteads for cultivation. Gardens, often fragmented across different parts of the parish or lineage land in other parishes, flourished under the guardianship of male descendants. Land alienation required consultation and permission from lineage mates, and sales outside the lineage were virtually unheard of.
With this captivating glimpse into the cultural fabric and traditional land tenure of the Mbeere, our journey continues. Join us as we delve deeper into the complexities of the land reform program and the paradoxical sense of insecurity it unleashed among this vibrant community. The Mbeere’s story is one of resilience, adaptation, and the enduring spirit that thrives even in the face of uncertainty.
Title: “Unprecedented Litigation: The Land Reforms and Land Disputes in Mbeere (Part 2)”
Continuation from Part 1:
Thus, in 1973, Jack Glazier encountered numerous individuals who, despite losing their cases at court on appeal, continued to occupy the land Glazier had initially found them on in 1969. They were seeking alternative avenues of redress, turning to the local committees of elders known as the land adjudication committee.
In Mbeere, the Land Adjudication Act of 1968, a national statute, provided the impetus for land reforms. This Act superseded the Land Consolidation Act, which had recently been repealed. It is important to note that the Land Consolidation Act did not apply to Mbeere, although some provisions were similar to those of the Land Adjudication Act of 1968.
The process of Land Adjudication, as outlined in the Act, was administered by the Ministry of Lands and Settlement. It involved the coordination of five government officers in collaboration with the local community. These key figures were the adjudication officer, executive officer, demarcation officer, survey officer, and recording officer. Among them, the adjudication officer held the highest authority.
According to the provisions of the Land Adjudication Act, the Minister of Lands and Settlement was empowered to appoint a public officer as the adjudication officer for a specific adjudication area. The adjudication officer, in turn, could appoint demarcation officers, survey officers, and recording officers subordinate to them for the purpose of demarcating, surveying, and recording land interests within the adjudication area.
In Mbeere, an assistant adjudication officer administered land reform in the Mbeere Division, under the authority of the land adjudication officer for Embu District. The adjudication officer, in consultation with the District Commissioner, appointed not less than ten residents within the adjudication section to be the adjudication committee for that particular section.
The Act also mandated the appointment of an executive officer for each committee to maintain records and communicate the committee’s decisions to the recording officer. The executive officer could attend meetings and speak but had no voting rights. Additionally, the executive officer was responsible for referring any appeals of the local committee’s decisions to the arbitration board of the district and certifying the adjudication record while explaining it to landowners.
The demarcation officer had the authority to order the demarcation of boundaries for any plot of land within an officially declared Adjudication Section. The demarcation of boundaries often began in 1969, with lineages planting sisal as markers. The demarcation officer could also adjust boundaries to create consolidated pieces of land in cooperation with the local committee of elders, who were empowered to hear land disputes.
The recording officer, sometimes overlapping with the demarcation officer’s responsibilities, prepared the adjudication record. They considered land claims within the adjudication section, recorded plot owners and relevant ownership information, including cases involving minors or disputes. In case of disputes, the recording officer could attempt informal arbitration or refer the matter to the local adjudication committee for a hearing. After a decision on ownership, the recording officer would amend the adjudication record if necessary.
The survey officer, on the other hand, was responsible for preparing maps and conducting surveys, primarily focusing on defining land boundaries. The survey officer did not have jurisdiction over land disputes or the demarcation of boundaries.
In Mbeere, the local land adjudication committee consisted of two men from each clan residing in the adjudication section. In Nguthi Sublocation, for instance, the committee comprised thirty-two men representing sixteen Nguthi clans. Although land was typically held by lineages or, occasionally, multiple lineages within a single clan, the land adjudication committee members represented individual clans and not lineages. These committees, having been appointed and sanctioned by the adjudication officer, had jurisdiction over disputes involving land allocated within their section. Their authority extended to hearing and settling disputes, even if they were previously heard by the court.
The land adjudication committees provided an alternative forum for settling disputes, giving the local community a sense of ownership over the process. It was here that many of the individuals Glazier encountered, who had lost their cases in court, sought justice. The committees often relied on oral testimony and traditional knowledge, considering factors such as occupation, cultivation, and inheritance patterns to determine land ownership. These committees played a vital role in the land reforms, acting as a bridge between the formal legal system and the local community.
To be continued in Part 3…
Part 3: Land Litigation and Changing Dynamics
But indeed, most cases heard at the Mbeere Court were appealed, allowing losers at the Mbeere Court to remain on the disputed land. These cases from Nguthi Sub-location were first heard at the Mbeere Court, then appealed, and referred back to the local committees for final adjudication.
It is important to emphasize that earlier Mbeere Court rulings applicable to Nguthi Sub-location are binding on the local committee, despite the hopes of some informants that this new avenue of litigation would be more profitable than going to court. The Civil Procedure Act of Kenya, Section 7, states that no court shall try any suit or issue that has already been directly and substantially in issue in a former suit between the same parties. This principle of law, known as res judicata, upholds the decisions of judicial bodies to make court decisions final and prevent excessive litigation. The right of appeal is still available, but it does not invalidate the principle of res judicata. For res judicata to be applicable, the question at hand must be essentially the same as that raised in the first suit, and the parties involved must be the same. In the case of land adjudication in Nguthi, the local committee cannot entertain a suit over a piece of land between parties who previously aired the same grievance in court. The local committee can only uphold the previous court action under the principle of res judicata. However, it is important to note that the earlier court decision does not declare that the winning party owns the land in dispute; it only asserts that the winner of the court action has a legally stronger claim to ownership of the disputed territory than the defeated party. Res judicata ensures that the local committee, the arbitration board, and the various land Adjudication Officers abide by earlier court decisions concerning the litigants in specific cases. If someone else presses a claim to a particular piece of land on behalf of themselves or their lineage, the committee can scrutinize that claim, comparing it to the individual or group that was previously successful in court over that land. In such cases, the principle of res judicata does not apply. However, successive victories at court regarding an interest in land have provided a kind of interim title deed, and those with a successful record at court have been equally successful before the local committees.
The stakes are higher than ever in Mbeere litigation over land. In the pre-1960s period, land litigation was occasional and usually small-scale, focusing on boundaries between specific garden plots. However, recent changes have made local people aware that land is a valuable market item. The cultivation of cash crops, particularly tobacco and cotton in Nguthi, has presented new opportunities, stimulating desires for large tracts of land. Economic factors, coupled with the strong traditional and mystical associations with land, have intensified land disputes. These disputes, both at court and before the adjudication committee, often involve whole parcels of land spanning thousands of acres. The victory of one lineage over another can result in the displacement of hundreds of cultivators who have no choice but to purchase land from the winning lineage to maintain their homes and gardens. Otherwise, they must abandon their present homes and gardens and seek land in less contested but less desirable lower elevations.
Successful litigation in both the Mbeere Court and the local adjudication committee depends on various factors. A strong case under customary law is desirable, requiring testimony that lineage ancestors have cultivated the land in question for generations, predating the cultivation by ancestors of the opposing lineage. Evidence of improvements to the land, such as cutting timber, giving permission to tenants, and driving away interlopers, strengthens a case. Interestingly, some lineages foresaw the land registration program before it began, and they began registering the lands in the names of their clan seniority leaders, thus creating a marketable interest in land. Today, with those interests contested in court, the possessors of registered interests are reaping the benefits of past legal triumphs. To ensure victory in court, individuals or lineages must be able to afford a lawyer, a difficult proposition for many. Some legal fees run to several thousand dollars, with no guarantee of success. However, many Mbeere now have some idea of how to proceed with a court case, thanks to the publicity surrounding land disputes and to public meetings.