Abstract: This article examines the legal and policy framework governing land acquisition in Tanzania, with a focus on empowering indigenous communities to pursue land justice. While Tanzania’s land laws, notably the Land Act, Cap 113 and the Village Land Act, Cap. 114, provide a sophisticated structure for land administration, the practical implementation of these laws often leaves indigenous groups such as pastoralists, hunters and gatherers vulnerable to displacement and marginalisation. In an analysis of the recent legal reforms, including the revised national land policy and legal jurisprudence, this article highlights the systemic challenges in the land acquisition process. Achieving land justice for indigenous communities during land acquisition in Tanzania necessitates more than the formal legal recognition of customary tenure. Although Tanzania’s land framework acknowledges customary rights and village participation, its design and implementation often perpetuate systemic inequalities affecting pastoralists, hunter-gatherers, women, and other rural populations. Land acquisition in Tanzania is commonly associated with land loss, livelihood disruption, food insecurity, conflict, environmental degradation, and resettlement into inadequately serviced areas. Empirical evidence shows that large-scale land acquisitions reduce local landholdings, intensify farmland inequality, and do not consistently result in compensatory improvements in income or well-being. The disparity between legal provisions and actual decision-making practices exacerbates this issue. Even when legal procedures are followed, communities frequently lose their land due to power imbalances, lack of transparency, complex administrative processes, and weak local institutions. While formalising land rights and implementing village land-use planning can help protect them, these processes have also facilitated investor access to land and, in some cases, resulted in displacement. Achieving land justice in