Land, graves and belonging: land reform and the politics of belonging in newly resettled farms in Gutu, 2000–2009

Unravelling Church Land: Transformations in the Relations between Church, State and Community in Uganda

“…One indicator of the relevance of cultural aspects of land is the increasing intensity of debate concerning burials and ancestral graves in Africa (Ceuppens and Geschiere, ; Fontein, ; Mujere, ; Shipton, ), with the tangible materiality of gravestones and the bones of ancestors tying into the intangible and imaginational aspects of belonging to the soil. Mujere observes that belonging is essentially ‘about being locally embedded’ and, for African peasants, tends to ‘revolve around religion, autochthony and ownership of land’ (Mujere, : 1125). Yet it is only rarely that all three of these aspects — land, religion and autochthony — are granted equal attention.…”

“…Wrangles between ‘first‐comers’ and ‘strangers’ can be crucial, but autochthony is not the only relevant marker in negotiations of belonging. To make this point we expand on Mujere's () concept of ‘dual belonging’, which refers to situations wherein migrant groups experience a sense of belonging to a number of place‐based communities (see also Cohen and Odhiambo, ), producing ‘multiple belonging’ to multiple communities — whether ethnic, lineage‐based, place‐based or religious — that can be employed when staking claims to land.…”

Organization and (De)mobilization of Farmworkers in Zimbabwe: Reflections on Trade Unions, NGOs and Political Parties

“…It should be noted that the mode of belonging of the new settlers, particularly in the A1 schemes, is still not clearly defined. In the first decade of the FTLRP, some settlers were evicted by more powerfully connected settlers, and there was uncertainty for many new settlers over whether or not to sever any claims they may have to land they may have in the Communal Areas (Mujere ; Matondi ). On some of the A1 resettlement farms, there is competition between the administrative structures established and confirmed by the settlers, called Village Committees (or sometimes ‘7 member committees’), and different traditional leaders from Communal Areas who have been asserting historical claims to some of the land.…”

“…On some of the A1 resettlement farms, there is competition between the administrative structures established and confirmed by the settlers, called Village Committees (or sometimes ‘7 member committees’), and different traditional leaders from Communal Areas who have been asserting historical claims to some of the land. In such territories, the categories of ‘autochthons’ and ‘strangers’ can be at play as authoritative languages in the mode of belonging at work (Mujere ). Yet even in such resettlement areas, a key, if not overdetermining, criterion of belonging has been politics (Mujere , passim ).…”

“…In such territories, the categories of ‘autochthons’ and ‘strangers’ can be at play as authoritative languages in the mode of belonging at work (Mujere ). Yet even in such resettlement areas, a key, if not overdetermining, criterion of belonging has been politics (Mujere , passim ).…”