Land as a Human Right: A History of Land Law and Practice in Tanzania

Foreword

Foreword Professor G. Mgongo Fimbo, Ph.D. An academic work does not always carry a Foreword. The reason being that the author would already have a considerable number of publications in professional journals to his credit before being published in book form. He would be fairly well known and would not, therefore, require a senior academic to introduce him and his work. In this case I have willingly provided this Foreword for two reasons: first because literature on land and Land Law in East Africa is scarce and secondly because of the high calibre of the work of this relatively young academic. Everyoneofus,exceptthepresentauthor,wasintimidatedbyMegarry who wrote that the law of real property (Land Law) is a subject of great difficulty for the beginner because of the complexity of the language, which involves the use of many technical terms. In this book the author roundly disapproves Megarry by adopting a reader-friendly language and style. The author has chosen his topics well and treated them competently, drawing from international law, jurisprudence, human rights law, consitutional law, law of succession, history, anthropology and feminism. I am certain that this work will be of immense value in the teaching of Land Law and to legal practitioners in their handling of land issues and cases. Dar es Salaam 2nd September 2011. ...