29March2024

Land Reforms in Kenya and around Africa

This blog focuses on issues of land reforms in Kenya and around Africa and related matters

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Recent blog posts

Vast and busy docket

When she reported to the Lands Ministry at Ardhi House in October last year, Cabinet Secretary Alice Wahome walked. Done occasionally, this style would acquaint her with what happens at the precincts of this humbling building. It disrupts the not-so-well-intentioned actors. Indeed, her occasional easy visits to sections in the Ministry would be a boon. It’d demystify many things. The default practice is to be chauffeured to the basement, ushered into the lift and quickly delivered to the seat of power on 12th floor, which can alienate her.

CS Wahome holds a big and busy Ministry. She has to steer firmly. She’s responsible for the vexing housing programme, which will occupy lots of her time. However, she mustn’t allow pressure from housing to deny her time for the land agenda, which is huge, and impacts everyone. Tenure security provides the foundation to major national projects, including housing.

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Posted by on in Land Governance

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

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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

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Rapidly changing city

I am back to Addis Ababa, post-Covid. The city, home to the African Union (AU) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), is referred to as Africa’s political capital in continental banter. One can understand. Like Nairobi, it has been rapidly expanding, and its population exploded. Estimates place this at about 5.5 million currently. The construction boom remains on, with mega commercial spaces, high-rise buildings and skyscrapers interrupting the city horizon. Bole International Airport, now said to be the largest capacity airport in Africa, continues to expand. Kenya should take lessons.

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Diverse regional issues

In an East African Community forum held in August last year in Uganda’s capital city of Kampala, Kenya reported to have started reviewing its 2009 national land policy. The forum had been organized by the EAC in partnership with the African Land Policy Center to provide EAC Partner States the opportunity to share lessons and best practices in land policy development, in keeping with the African Union Declaration on land. I provided technical support to the process and therefore had opportunity to appreciate the diversity of issues informing land policy review within the region.

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