20 Coast MPs and National Land Commission reject proposed Community Land Bill

National Land Commission Chairman Muhammad Swazuri looks at the map of the Olooltoto Community Ranch when he issued 108 title deeds. [PHOTO: ROBERT KIPLAGAT/Standard]

More than 20 Coast MPs and members of the National Land Commission met in Mombasa over the controversial Community Land Bill 2015 before the National Assembly and demanded its withdrawal.

They said the bill, if enacted into law, will have far-reaching negative effects on land reform, adding that through this law the Kenyatta government is plotting to render the commission toothless.

Most of the MPs said they would convince their counterparts, particularly from Rift Valley and North Eastern regions, to opposed the bill saying it was intended to centralise the administration of community land in Nairobi by empowering the Lands Cabinet Secretary to control land allocations.

Urgent meeting

The MPs convened an urgent meeting at Travellers Beach Hotel attended at NLC chairman Muhammad Swazuri who also opposed the Community Land Bill and land amendments saying they were unconstitutional.

Mombasa Woman Representative Mishi Mboko claimed land reforms being pursued in the country targeted the commission and the county governments to ensure all their powers are concentrated in the CS for Land.

"We are totally opposed to the Community Land Bill as well as the Omnibus Land Laws (Amendments) which are intended to take away the powers of the NLC and ensure county governments have no say over land," Ms Mboko protested.

She said the country urgently required an independent bill on historical land injustices arguing that many regions have had bloody clashes related to how land was allocated.

Coast Parliamentary Group (CPG) chairman and Kilifi North MP Gideon Mung'aro said MPs wanted to develop as many checks and balances as possible to stop patronage of land administration by a single office.

"As MPs, we are interested in creating safeguards so that no one group controls land issued in the country," said Mung'aro, a member of the parliamentary land committee.

Prof Swazuri said the Community Land Community Bill would scrap the 42 county land management boards that provide a link between county governments and the national government and instead vest all powers over community land on the Lands Cabinet secretary.

"Administration of community land was in the past in the hands of native councils and county councils and now will be given to the Lands CS. The bill is going to kill the 42 county land management boards that we have formed. Such centralisation of community land has never happened in this country," Swazuri warned.

MPs present included Thomas Mwadeghu, Gunga Mwinga, Athhman Sharif, Idd Mustafa, Joyce Lay, Khatib Mwashetani,  Jones Mlolwa, Hassan Mwanyoha and Aisha Jumwa. The meeting was sponsored by Haki Jamii and Action Aid Kenya.