Land Disputes in Mogadishu

Written by: Abdikani Hussein Land ownership is one of the most sensitive and difficult issues in Somalia today, Mainly in Mogadishu. This has direct consequences for the millions of People returning to Somalia and those in diaspora waiting the security to get restored. As the stability of the Mogadishu capital is slowly improving for the past few months and it has also generated upsurge of disputes which brings the dark side of the city. The Somali nomadic people who took over the city in the 90’s and also settle in to these properties without the consent of the owners and enjoyed the properties for the past twenty years. In addition, they are reminded that it’s time for them to evacuate or an eviction notice. It is unknown were they will relocate but the United Nation and the humanitarian agencies estimated that all these people will end up the Internal Displaced persons Camp (IDP). Some of the previous owners have returned to Mogadishu and are reclaiming their land. In many cases, the illegal residents are been evicted by the local government. In the meantime, there are so many other properties that people have not claimed because they live in the diaspora. In addition, the Somali government hasn’t created a legal system which needs to handle in this important issue. The local courts in Mogadishu say they’re simply astounded by the total number and cases. The situation is very slowly and the Somalia justice system says we do not have the man- power and the technology to sort things quickly but at the moment, the courts and landowners use three mechanisms to verify and judge rightfulness of the ownership and the land in Somalia. First, a witness, as Muslim Oath and oral society, giving out verbal verification of land by neighbors, relatives and former land commission officials still passes as a powerful tool to determine the ownership. The second is land registry which a former land commission official, who has custody of the national land registry, has been giving verifications to owners. The third is land design, another former official living in Mogadishu who has custody of the national land design scheme, has also been giving verifications to the owners. The Somali government must take steps to reclaim their internal, national documents and establish a justice system and a committee to oversee the land disputes to a avoid violence. Finally, it will help the Somalis in Kenya refuges camp to return safely in to their homes and also the diaspora to claim it back their land. Abdikani I Hussein you can reach me at Abdikani_2000@yahoo.com