Revocation of Galana-Kulalu Settlement Scheme

Year 2023 opened with mixed expectations following the swearing into office of Lands Cabinet Secretary (CS) Mr Zachariah Mwangi Njeru in late 2022. As we ushered in January, President William Ruto revoked the subdivision of Galana-Kulalu land into settlement plots. This was followed by news on the suspension of the subdivision of some 2800 acre community land parcel in Kibiku, Kajiado West Sub-County, following grabbing allegations. Not much has been heard about these since. The new CS held consultative meetings with stakeholders following threats of public demonstrations by the Law Society of Kenya over delays, inefficiencies and collapse of services in land registries. The CS subsequently put in place measures, such as the manual registration of transactions to properties not yet converted to the Land Registration Act, to ensure that land transactions continued even as digitization proceeded.

Farm invasions

Proposal to hike fees

The recent gazette notice by the Lands Cabinet Secretary Alice Wahome proposing to increase fees for various services offered by the Ministry has provoked public discussion. There are times such an increment could be a boon to the provision of land services. Nevertheless, there are times this can be a bane to the target consumers. It all depends on the underlying justification, the prevailing circumstances, and the magnitude of the increment. The timing, the involvement and communication of the information to industry matter too.

Fee hikes need justification and buy-in

Demolitions

We have previously seen demolitions happen in Nairobi’s Eastlands and Syokimau. Athi River Portland has now happened. Kenya must be careful not to normalise brutal evictions contrary to its own law, and international conventions. The associated loss of property and trauma are devastating, and usually difficult to rationalise. Watching the images has been emotionally draining. Efforts should be made to avoid recurrence, and minimize the adverse consequences. The lessons below are pertinent.

Judiciary

Multiple Claims

Athi River town, theatre to the current demolitions, serves as a good dormitory to many people working in Machakos, Kitengela and Nairobi. On matters land rights, it presents a nightmare. It is a microcosm of our complex tenure system, and overlapping claims. Indeed, in 2011, the then Minister of State for Provincial Administration and Internal Security, the late George Saitoti, established a Task Force to look into the irregular appropriation of public land, and the squatter problem therein. But the problem never got reined in, and the government may need to do more.

Wide docket

Lands Cabinet Secretary Zachary Njeru is one of the relaxed and affable high office holders that one can find. Unfortunately, his vast Ministry, which is responsible for the vexing land issue, will leave him little wriggle room. Besides Lands, the Ministry comes loaded with the dockets of Public Works, Housing and Urban Development. Since he sits in Cabinet, he is responsible for the overall policy direction and coherence of the land sector, and the routine politics of land in the country. At the technical and operational level, the law obliges him to consult with the Land Commission.