Access to land in sub-Saharan Africa : the church as an unnoticed accomplice

Abstract

The access to land for Africans in sub-Saharan Africa has been problematic since the advent of colonisation. The church came to Africa as an acolyte of colonisers and acquired land as a benefit from its association. The minority of people still own the majority of land through title deeds, a Eurocentric view of land based on private ownership, while the landless (the majority of Africans) are still hoping their respective governments would redistribute equitably the land so that they could have access to their birth right inheritance from their Creator and their ancestors (Afrocentric view). The church is part of the minority that owns vast pieces of land. Different subSaharan African governments have proven to be incapable to do fair and equitable land redistributions. This article asks the question about how the church could be a role player in the democratisation of access to land. It stresses that the church could be a proactive role player in this issue of access to land by making its current land assets accessible to local communities as well as advocating for speedy land redistribution by governments. This article ends by highlighting proactive action of land access by some local churches to illustrate what the church can do and inspire others to follow suit.