Biography
Theresa Auma is a Ugandan scholar and social activist. She is currently a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at Makerere Institute of Social Research (MISR), Makerere University and a research consultant with the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS) at the University of the Western Cape (UWC). She holds a PhD in Social Studies from Makerere University and her doctoral thesis is titled: “Customary Resistance to Marketization of Land: Lango clans in northern Uganda”. Her PhD research focused on how society (represented by the clan system) is deploying customary power against state power and the market, in their resistance to the expansion of (neoliberal) land markets into the realm of customary land tenure. Her academic research interest spans issues around market transitions, the land question and questions around social reproduction under capitalism.
Besides her academic contributions, Theresa has a vast experience in the NGO sector in Uganda, working with the land sector. She is the current Executive Director of Land and Equity Movement in Uganda (LEMU), an NGO whose work is focused on the recognition and protection of customary land rights. As a land expert, she has also offered expert services as a consultant to international organisations such as FAO- Uganda Office, GIZ Uganda, Uganda Agribusiness Alliance and Namati Inc, focusing on diverse topics such as promoting responsible investments in land, protection of community lands and resources.