The second team of commissioners to the land commission are just over two years in office now. They were sworn in by former Chief Justice David Maraga in November 2019. But not many can name its chair, vice-chair and commissioners. But by its first year, many in the land sector would have named most members of the first commission, whose tenure expired in February 2019. It had assumed office in February 2013. Why? Because the engagement styles of the two teams of commissioners are notably different.
New commissioners focused on results
The first commission engaged abrasively, and publicly. Graphic details of its internal squabbles, and those with the Lands Ministry and the rest of the government, went public. I remember once quipping that the media must have retained an office next door. The style strained relations with some key partners, undermined production and tainted the commission’s image. As it handed over office, the first land commission was publicly shamed, with some of its commissioners and officers having been charged in court for diverse reasons. Being the inaugural commission, this was not good history, much as the sister Lands Ministry may have been guilty for not dutifully nurturing its first constitutional baby.