The Emergence of Land Markets in Africa

CHAPTER 13

Land Conflicts

and Soil Management

Evidence from Kenya¹

TAKASHI YAMANO AND

KAUS DEININGER

and is increasingly becoming a source of conflicts in Sub-Saharan Africa, where land access had traditionally been characterized as relatively egalitarian. It has been shown that local land conflicts can erupt into large-scale civil strife and political movements (Andre and Platteau 1998; Fred-Mensah 1999; Daudelin 2002). The most recent example is the postpresidential election violence in Kenya, started in December 2007, where historical land conflicts between ethnic groups have amplified the postelection violence, especially in Rift Valley (Mathenge ...