No more renewal of leases on idle land, says National Land Commission

By CAROLINE RWENJI

KENYA: Government leases on idle land will not be renewed upon expiry, the National Land Commission said on Thursday in an announcement with far-reaching implications.

The commission also warned foreign owners of large tracts of land they risked having the land seized should they contravene lease conditions.

“Consideration for renewal depends on what the land owner has done with the land for the past 99 years. If conditions are met, one can receive a renewed lease after applying to the commission,” said NLC chairman Muhammad Swazuri during a press conference in Nairobi.

However, Swazuri was at pains to explain that the government had no intention of kicking out investors from the country.

Deriving its powers from the 2010 Constitution, the commission was formed to address the sensitive issue of land ownership, which has been at the root of national tensions that culminated in the 2008 post-election violence.

Recently, the commission put out notices requiring non-citizens to submit leases on the land they occupy for inspection.

Following yesterday’s announcement however, experts pointed out that the commission — which is grossly underfunded — did not have the capacity to deal with the political and legal problems their best intentions could run into.

While the Government allocated the commission Sh209 million this financial year, Swazuri said the activities the commission has planned require Sh4 billion this year.

One land expert warned the commission to tread carefully on the issue of repossessing idle land and getting back parcels of land whose leases have expired.

Ibrahim Mwathane said the commission must develop structured guidelines for repossessing underutilised land.“The commission should be prepared for the consequences that might come with such a task, which everyone knows targets some influential people, including a lot of politically connected people,” said Mwathane, a consultant with Surveying and Land Information.

He cited the contested definition of idle or underutilised land as another obstacle to the exercise.

Mwathane suggested that the commission must first build capacity at national and county levels and deal with more urgent issues such as streamling service delivery and ending corruption at the Ministry of Lands.

Leased land

“As land experts, we want the commission to succeed and we are very much behind them but we need to be realistic about what it can achieve in the short term and in the long term. Otherwise it will run into problems in the early stages,” he said.

Another land expert interviewed said majority of leased land is found in Central, Coast and Rift Valley, including Laikipia.

“Most of this land is in foreign hands but some owners are locals. Major interests in agro-business, tourism and mining are found outside towns,” said Kenya Land Alliance’s Odenda Lumumba.

Odenda said the measures should have been implemented in 2010 when the Constitution was ratified but coming almost three years later showed “the government is only dilly dallying.” Leases are granted conditionally, such that if one secures land to put up a tourist resort, that is the only legal purpose for that land. The essence is to discourage land held for speculative purposes.

However, some people have misrepresented the purpose for the land, considering conditions vary for various land uses, to irregularly obtain leases.

Among those targeted are owners of flower farms, ranchers, horticultural farms, tea and coffee estates if they fail to prove that the land has been put to proper use. Swazuri however, termed allegations that foreigners could lose their leased land so that it reverts to the public as unfounded.

The landowners will nevertheless be required to follow due process and have their leases renewed as many have expired since the Constitution reduced the number of years from 999 to 99.

Only recently the Land Commission revoked title deeds held by landowners who had acquired the documents irregularly in the coastal region.

Land policy

The commission said people with fake title deeds had grabbed land in Kawala Kadzodzo and Maziombani in Kilifi County.

Swazuri further noted that the public and its leaders are not conversant with the new land laws, the Constitution and the National Land Policy. The commission, he said, has set up retreats to educate Kenyans and their leaders on land laws.

“We are in the process of requesting all those with allotment letters but no title deeds to forward their letters for verification. Many Kenyans have assumed that an allotment letter is the ultimate title deed and make no effort to obtain the final document, even after many years of occupying land and developing it,” the Land Commission boss noted.

A governors’ retreat will be held in Mombasa from July 17 to 20 this year, while a similar retreat will be held with county secretaries in charge of land and natural resources on July 28 to 31, in Naivasha.

The commission will also host senators, MPs, the civil society and the media for a similar seminar.

The commission has also appointed a task force to draft regulations and procedures for the National Land Commission Act.

Swazuri said the Community Land Bill and Evictions and Settlements Bill would be ready by October 31.

Additional reporting by Steve Mkawale