Customary Land Tenure in Liberia - Land Tenure and Property ...

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community sometimes encounter resistance from their brothers in providing them with access to family land.
Disputes arise when a woman‟s brother requires her to pay in rice for access to the family land. If the woman
does not pay, her brother may “carry her to the Town Chief,” especially if “he has no love for [her].” Widows
in Tengia Clan reported such disputes to be common, and usually settled by the elders who will allegedly rule
on behalf of the brother. In Saykleken Clan, disputes arise between children of women married outside the
clan and clan citizens when the former attempt to claim land given to their mother in her community.
In Tengia and Saykleken Clans, disputes occur between widows and their brothers-in-law over the inheritance
of the deceased‟s land. Female clan members told us that a widow‟s brother-in-law will take property from
the widow, even if she has children. As one clan member said, “Women have no power to stop them.” Such
disputes were also reported to occur in Mana Clan, though instances were rare.
In Upper Workor Clan, inheritance disputes arise in relation to house spots. In one example, a woman and
her father‟s brother argued over her late father‟s house spot. The deceased‟s brother insisted that a woman
could not inherit her father‟s property, while the woman claimed that she was the heir to her father‟s
property. After the Land Allocation Committee investigated the dispute, they ruled that the woman should
have the land. Also see Section 6.1.3.
In Gbanshay Clan, the inheritance of rights claimed under TCs was reported to be a common source of
disputes within families. According to one source, up to four names could be listed on one TC, with the
signers often including “and all” to indicate all members of the extended family. Those whose ancestors‟
names are explicitly listed on the TC are at odds with those who claim their rights through the “and all.”
Another tension surrounds TCs in the names of groups, like in the case whereby the last surviving member of
a TC group bequeaths land to his descendants, excluding the descendants of his fellow TC holders who have
since died.
6.1.2 Disputes with Returnees and Refugees
There is potential for disputes stemming from displacement due to the Liberian Civil Wars, during which a
peak 500,000 people were displaced. Since the conflict ended, only a few thousand Liberians were considered
displaced persons, indicating that the majority have returned to their homes. The influx of “returnees” and
their access to land are regularly portrayed by media and development agencies as a potential source of
disputes in rural Liberia. For example, the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (2010) states that
“disputes over the use and ownership of land in return areas have continued” and cites these disputes as “a
major barrier to the establishment of security”. 58 However, among the 11 studied clans, disputes with
returnees were universally reported to be uncommon because most returnees get their original pieces of land
back for farming. The only exception was in regards to house spots which, once occupied, could not be given
back to the returnees. In Dobli and Mana Clans, disputes over house spots arise when clan members who
fled during the war return to find others that returned earlier have built homes on the formers‟ house spots.
In both clans, disputes over house spots are common, but are resolved locally.
Additionally, the potential for disputes can arise as a result of providing for the needs of refugees. For
example, clans that border Sierra Leone and the Ivory Coast – including Tengia and Ylan – have been host
communities for refugees fleeing conflicts in those countries. However, with the exception of Ylan Clan,
disputes with refugees and returnees were universally reported to be uncommon. In Ylan Clan, the GOL gave
200 acres of land to Ivorian refugees, allegedly without consulting or compensating clan members. Now, clan
members are claiming land in the area where the refugees planted plantains and other crops, resulting in
disputes with the refugee community.
58 See also Munive Rincon (2010); Paczynska (2010).
CUSTOMARY LAND TENURE IN LIBERIA