Disarray and neglect at Kenyan land registries

An exclusive audit has exposed the rot that delays property transactions at the Ministry of Lands, writes HAROLD AYODO

A report by the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) follows an assessment of land registries in Nairobi, Mombasa, Thika and Nakuru.

Missing land rent records, erroneous results of official searches and delays in valuation of property are among common vices in the registries.

?Others are delays in stamping of documents resultant from missing files, understaffing, inadequate training of staff and rampant corruption. Property transactions also delay at the registries after photocopiers break down in several occasions.

Valuation of property is also at snail pace in many Government offices as there is only one government valuer in district offices —valuation by private valuers is not accepted.

Prime Minister  Raila Odinga is shocked to peruse tattered documents in one of the registries in 2008.

?The 156-page report, titled Report on the Audit of the Nairobi, Mombasa, Thika and Nakuru Land Registries: An Assessment of the Business Processes has chronicled a litany of ills in several land registries.

?According to the audit, the Nairobi District Registry has only three registrars signing loads of documents. However, only one was in office at the time of the audit, as one registrar was on annual leave and another on study leave.

?Therefore, only one registrar had the authority to sign and handle the workload of the entire registry.

Registries stretched

There are six registrars in the central registry who can sign documents and just three in Nairobi District Registry (NDR).

The central registry located in Ardhi House has only one average photocopier with a clerk doing all the photocopying. Interestingly, a heavy-duty copier was purchased but remains unused as Ardhi House awaits procurement of a missing spare part!

?“When the machine runs out of toner, with the slow procurement processes, work at the central registry grinds to a halt,” says the report.