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Vol. 3 No. 3 (2026): July

Copyright (c) 2026 Kerbina Moyo (Author); Zubeir Rashid; Samwel Sanga (Author)

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Legal Pluralism Practices and Real Property Transaction Dilemma in Unguja, Zanzibar

https://doi.org/10.62810/jssh.v3i3.250
Kerbina Moyo
Ardhi University, Department of Land Management and Valuation, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Zubeir Rashid
Ministry of Land and Housing Development of Zanzibar, Tanzania
Samwel Sanga
Ardhi University, Department of Land Management and Valuation, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Corresponding Author(s) : Kerbina Moyo

kerbina40@gmail.com

Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vol. 3 No. 3 (2026): July

Abstract

The objective of this study is to assess the effect of legal pluralism practices on perceived transaction failure risk within Unguja's prevailing social structure. A descriptive research design was applied, using mixed methods, with interviews and surveys administered to a sample of 290 respondents. These instruments were used to describe the risks associated with property transactions in a legal pluralism environment. Simple linear regression analysis was further carried out to assess the probability of real transaction failure. These allowed the researcher to analyze, test for statistical significance, describe the direct and indirect effects, and relationships that result from the transaction dilemma.  Findings reveal that legal pluralism practices have a significant effect on all stages of real property transactions. The study further confirms that legal pluralism-related practices pose substantial risks to property transactions, including legal and development risks, land title risks, and financial risks.  The results indicate that LPPs have a positive unstandardized coefficient of 0.267 (p-value = 0.000 < 0.05), suggesting a significant LPPs transaction risk escalation effect and increasing the likelihood of TFRs across case study areas. The study further identifies multiple ownership Structure (MOS), Multiple Institutional Structure (MIS), and land tenure types as potential TFR escalators by causing transaction delays of between 8–20 percent.  To overcome the institutional power dilemma and limited protection of title deed holders, it is recommended that the land policy be modernized to strengthen and integrate all land transactions into an effective land management system using low-cost technology.

Keywords

Emerging markets Land Market Land tenure security Legal Pluralism Practices Transaction dilemma Transaction Failure Risks
Moyo, K., Rashid, Z., & Sanga, S. (2026). Legal Pluralism Practices and Real Property Transaction Dilemma in Unguja, Zanzibar. Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 3(3), 628–649. https://doi.org/10.62810/jssh.v3i3.250
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