Petitions for claims

As Tuesday 21^st September, 2021, the expiry of the timeline for the submission of historical land injustice claims approached, the pace of presentations to the Land Commission got frenetic. Here’s a sample of some of the groups that trooped to the Land Commission offices within the last two weeks, as lifted off their tweeter feed.

Petitions for historical land injustice claims were presented by communities from Matuga, Kinango and Msambweni of Kwale County; those from the Orma communities in Tana North, Galole and Tana Delta of Tana River County; and communities with ownership claims to the Yala Swamp in Bunyala Sub-County of Busia County. Communities from Wajir County and the Ogiek community of Nakuru County also lodged claims. Representatives of the El-Molo community, who had visited to consult with the Commission a little earlier, were advised to ensure that they filed their claims before the deadline. Perhaps they did; or maybe they didn’t manage the deadline.

Recurrent invasions

The ranchers and smallholder farmers in Laikipia County have taken a terrible beating over the years. Herders have moved stock into their ranches to graze without permission. And armed raiders have often forced their way into the farms and ranches, destroying crops, and taking away animals. There has been needless loss and destruction of property, and even loss of lives. Tracking and stopping the raiders hasn’t been easy. The terrain limits. It is vast, hot, rugged and punishing. The kind most Kenyans haven’t encountered.

Laikipia County is the confluence of pastoral and agrarian communities. The pastoral Counties of Isiolo, Samburu and Baringo lie to its North and North-West, while Meru, Nyeri, Nyandarua and Nakuru, all dominantly agrarian, take up the rest of its perimeter. Before the doctrine of private land rights was visited on us, pastoral communities grazed their animals within this swathe. But as our country moved on, classifying land into private, public and community then titling it, matters changed.

Filing claims: Deadline looms

In January 2019, through a contribution in the Saturday Nation, I pointed out that any legitimate historical land injustice claims must be lodged with the Land Commission by September 2021. The applicable provisions in the Land Laws (Amendment) Act, 2016 provided for a five year timeline effective 21^st September, 2016. This comes to an end on 21^st of this month, hardly three weeks from today.This information has been in the public domain all along. And besides write ups such as this, public sensitization on this critical matter has been happening through various civil society organs. And the Land Commission too.

The pertinent law lays out a clear mechanism and timelines for those aggrieved to seek redress. It provides that pertinent historical claims be submitted to the Land Commission. Once admitted by the Land Commission, the claim undergoes investigations, and, if upheld, an appropriate redress is recommended. And the complaints must fall between 15^th June, 1895 when Kenya came under the British East African Protectorate, and 27^th August, 2010, when the new constitution of Kenya was promulgated. The subject claim must be verifiable and must have resulted in the displacement of the claimant, or some other historical land injustice. Importantly, the grievance must be beyond redress through our ordinary courts either due to contradictions in the law applicable when it happened, or due to limitations of time.

Land central to economies

Land is central to Africa’s economy. Good land management is therefore a prerequisite to unlocking its full potential. In this regard, technology has become a helpful tool. No wonder, the Framework and Guidelines on Land Policy in Africa, underscores the importance of computerized land information management systems to African Union member states. Manual systems, the guidelines observe, are inaccessible and expensive to the user public, and therefore need to be redesigned and technologically upgraded.

Continental frameworks

Registry index maps

A while back, a friend called sounding rather excited. He had just bought a cadastral map, popularly referred to as a Registry Index Map (RIM), reflecting his property. From his map reading, the road which passes next to his land, which has been is use for years, didn’t reflect on the map. He therefore wanted to close it. I restrained him. And I warned him of the obvious consequences. But I informed him that the kind of map he held belongs to the category that was prepared for areas that underwent adjudication and serve more as an index for the parcels within an area, and not an accurate map base from which to extract survey measurements for use on property boundaries.

Adjudication zones: Physical boundaries are key