There has been a recent attempt to seek orders against the appointment of Kenya's National Land Commission. One of the three petitioners who had petitioned the High Court against the appointment of the chair and members of the national land commission moved to the Court of Appeal following Justice Majanja's ruling.

Under a certificate of urgency, the petitioners sought to have the Appeal Court issue temporary orders/injunction that the nominees shall not be sworn in before the hearing and determination of the appeal.

This matter came before Justice Koome on Thursday 6th December 2012. The Appeal Court however did not issue the orders/injunction sought.

Business Daily : Posted  Sunday, November 25  2012 at  22:40

Following the resolution of the court cases filed against the appointment of commissioners to the National Land Commission on the 12th of October 2012, it was expected, as elsewhere noted on this blog, that the commissioners would be gazetted soon after. We are now into November, about three weeks since, yet the formal appointment has not been done.

The National Land Commission Act provides that the President should appoint the commissioners within seven (7) days on receipt of the report from parliament. This report had been long forwarded. Clearly, there is therefore substantial breach of the legal timeline to this matter and there will be need for those charged with this duty to mind any further breach.

In the meantime, in the absence of any clear explanations for the delay, anxiety has been slowly growing in the sector. Questions continue to linger. Some are already beginning to speculate. This needs to be pre-empted.

On land matters, many Kenyans have hitherto only known the Ministry of Lands and Land Control Boards. This will change. Through the National Land Policy and the constitution, Kenyans asked for new institutions. Because Kenyans were fed up with the inefficiency and corruption associated with the Ministry of Lands, they wanted change. But only time will tell how the change plays out, given the routine challenges that dog our land administration.