Legal Protection of Land Rights of the Mbororo Community in Tadu: Are the Land Rights of Minority Settlers Adequately Secured under the Current Land Tenure Dispensation in Cameroon?

Abstract

Due to the prevalence of land disputes and potential conflicts on grazing lands, comprehensive knowledge of the local perspectives of land ownership, land rights and conflict is needed for effective programming and policy development on preventing land conflicts. This research focuses on a critical analysis on land legislations in Cameroon, especially on the protection of the rights of the indigenous peoples, factors and dynamics of issues surrounding land ownership, land rights and land conflict in Tadu, a locality found in Bui Division of the North West region of Cameroon. Both primary and secondary data on land tenure systems on the indigenous peoples’ rights to used and manage lands were exploited and critically analysed. This reveals a gradual and progressive nursing of a potential and very sensitive conflict on grazing lands in Tadu which if not managed with caution, may degenerate into chaos in the future. This has actually influence the choice of the position we have taken at the end of the research with key findings highlighted and explained, with recommendations on strategies that could be used to strengthen land rights and diminish disputes. It is important to note that the field reality reveals that there is multiplication of chieftaincy within the Mbororo communities whereby the Divisional Officers take advantage over the leadership tussle in the Mbororo community and appointed more Ardos. Also, the Mbororo people are ignorant on existing legislations on land in Cameroon and this makes them more vulnerable and the elitism in the community have all contributed to this imminent conflict. Therefore, it is as a result of the forgoing that this study proposes that a land reform in Cameroon which takes into account the rights of the Indigenous Peoples, vulgarisation on the existing texts in anticipation of the land reform and sensitization campaigns will obviously prevent potential land conflict of this nature.