Legal Pluralism and the Position of Customary Law in Mediation of Land Disputes by Ward Tribunals: Insights from Mvomero and Kilosa Districts in Morogoro, Tanzania

Abstract

This article investigates the extent to which “customary principles of mediation” in Tanzania’s ward tribunals are operationalized in practice. Using documentary review, interviews, focus groups, and a short questionnaire across eight wards in Mvomero and Kilosa Districts, we examine the practical salience of customary mediation and the institutional conditions shaping it. We find that Tanzania’s legal pluralism is state dominant and complementary. Ward tribunals mediate within statutory frames and natural justice, while substantive tribal norms are seldom invoked. This divergence is linked to the historical abolition of traditional leadership in 1963, court led modification of customary rules, heterogeneous parties (including legal persons), and standardized mediation requirements introduced in 2021. We distinguish substantive from procedural customary law and show that mediation practice in ward tribunals often reflects generic procedural fairness rather than named community norms. We propose a custom-sensitive mediation model, and concrete policy actions to deliver community based justice.