President Uhuru Kenyatta’s intervention remains the remedy to the row between Charity Ngilu and Dr Mohamed Swazuri

Cabinet Secretary Charity Ngilu is on the spot over lack of co-ordination at the Lands ministry. [PHOTO: FILE/STANDARD]

By Stephen Makabila

Nairobi, Kenya: President Uhuru Kenyatta’s intervention remains the only solution to the raging row between Lands Cabinet Secretary and the National Land Commission, experts on land matters say.

The President, land experts say, should take firm action and restore sanity in the Ministry of Lands, while institutions with oversight authority on the ministry and the land commission (like Parliament) should also dig in.

But legal experts, led by the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) chairman Eric Mutua want the commission to seek interpretation of the Supreme Court to resolve differences between it and the Cabinet Secretary.

Operations in the ministry have heavily been affected due to turf wars between Lands Cabinet Secretary Charity Ngilu on one hand and the chairman of the NLC Dr Mohamed Swazuri on the other.

Negative result

The infighting has impacted negatively on land transfers, leases and the signing of title deeds at the ministry, and land and legal experts have cautioned continued bad blood was a recipe for chaos in the country’s land sector.

The Executive Director of the Land Development and Governance Institute Mwenda Makathimo says in an ideal situation, Ngilu and Swazuri should complement each other’s roles for efficient and improved service delivery.

He says while Ngilu’s role should be policy and guidance, the NLC under Swazuri should take care of public and private land management. He says it was wrong for Ngilu to argue the NLC should only deal with public land matters.

“The law is not ambiguous, it is very clear on the roles of each institution. The problem we have is that of a ‘personality clash’ between the two leaders,” added Makathimo, an expert in land economics and former chairman of the Institution of Surveyors of Kenya (ISK).

Makathimo reckons the land reform implementation agenda is suffering due to that the stand-off between the two. “Reforms and delivery of services in the land sector requires co-operation between the ministry and the NLC. They have no choice but to work together and it is the Executive to prevail upon the two to work as a team,” Makathimo told The Standard on Sunday.

Clash of egos?

The Kenya Land Alliance National Co-ordinator Odenda Lumumba agrees with Makathimo, saying that powers of the two are clear in law, but points out there are some weaknesses in regulatory arrangements.

Lumumba says there is need for clear structuring of the ministry, with distinct roles for the cabinet secretary, the NLC and the county governments on land matters.

“However, above all, the problem we have in the ministry is the personal egos of Ngilu and Swazuri. Ngilu feels she is politically connected while Swazuri feels technically superior,” Lumumba told The Standard on Sunday.

Lumumba says: “The Head of State should summon Ngilu and Swazuri and read them the riot Act. We also need to know if this issue was touched on at the Nanyuki Cabinet retreat”.

Mutua, the LSK chairman, says the feud between Ngilu and Swazuri has dragged on for far long and is affecting service delivery, hence hurting the economy.

“The ministry and the NLC have been squabbling over their mandate, with each having own interpretations. I think the best way forward is to settle their accounts at the Supreme Court by seeking an advisory opinion,” noted Mutua.

Respective dockets

LSK CEO Apollo Mboya says Ngilu and the NLC have joined together to create a government shutdown in their respective dockets, and that apart from the enormous inconvenience caused to the public and potential investors, it is now estimated that the standoff is costing the country Sh16 billion in uncollected fees and levies for various transactions.

“In this scenario where a handful of state officers are holding the entire country to ransom, what do we do? Should the stalemate continue? Should government inaction continue? Should the public continue to remain victims of the egoistic fight between the minister for Lands and the NLC?” poses Mboya.

The rift between Ngilu and the NLC widened earlier in the week after the Cabinet Secretary directed the Director of Surveys to stop issuing land registration maps to the commission.

In a letter dated March 7, signed by the acting Director of Surveys Cesare Mbaria on behalf of the Cabinet Secretary, various heads of departments in the directorate were directed to stop issuing the crucial documents that are key in preparation for title deeds.

“In light of the grave irregularity that the above Gazette Notice poses, you are hereby directed forthwith not to issue any registration maps for new grants, extension of lease or change of user to the National Land Commission until further notice,” read part of the letter.

The move is only but the latest in the ongoing tussle between NLC and the minister that has paralysed some sections of the ministry.

Ngilu was also mid-week accused of allegedly assaulting a legal officer at the Lands department in the ongoing row with NLC.

The commission has accused Ngilu of disregard to the rule of law. Swazuri has said the move would negatively affect their goals and mandates of NLC at large.