Cattle Rustling and Competing Land Claims: Understanding Struggles Over Land in Bunambutye, Eastern Uganda Pamela Khanakwa Abstract: Bulambuli district in eastern Uganda suffered chronic insecurity arising from cattle rustling since the 1960s and recently became awash with escalating land conflicts. Focusing on the disputed ownership over Plot 94 in Bunambutye, Khanakwa examines the intersection between cattle rustling, land conflicts, and peace-building. While scholarship often overlooks the relationship between livestock theft and social conflict, evidence from Bulambuli highlights the efforts of affected communities vis-à- vis the failures of local political leadership to resolve tensions. The Ugandan govern- ment’s failure to enforce recommendations in a timely manner speaks to the urgency of arbitration and cancellation of fraudulent land titles. Résumé : Le district de Bulambuli, dans l’est de l’Ouganda, a souffert d’une insécurité chronique due au vol de bétail depuis les années 1960 et a une escalade récente de conflits agraires. En se concentrant sur la propriété contestée de la parcelle 94 de Bunambutye, Khanakwa examine l’intersection entre le vol de bétail, les conflits agraires et la consolidation de la paix. Alors que les chercheurs négligent souvent la relation entre le vol de bétail et les conflits sociaux, l’exemple de Bulambuli met en lumière les efforts des communautés affectées face à l’incapacité des dirigeants politiques locaux à résoudre les tensions. Le fait que le gouvernement ougandais African Studies Review, Volume 65, Number 2 (June 2022), pp. 455–478 Pamela Khanakwa is a Lecturer of History at Makerere University. Her research examines ritual male circumcision and territorial struggles as well as construc- tions of masculinities, ethnicity and political identity with a focus on the Bagisu of eastern Uganda. Her work has been published in the Journal of African History and as chapters in edited volumes. She is currently working on a cultural history of water management in eastern Uganda and an intellectual and administrative architecture of historical studies at Makerere University. E-mail: pkhanakwa@gmail.com/pamela.khanakwa@mak.ac.ug © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the African Studies Association. doi:10.1017/asr.2021.93 455 https://doi.org/10.1017/asr.2021.93 Published online by Cambridge University Press