Government gives land owners reprieve

Lands Cabinet Secretary Faridah Karoney. [Boniface Okendo, Standard]

Land owners with title deeds issued by the Jubilee administration can now stop worrying about their legitimacy.

Parliament has finally approved regulations to seven land laws as directed by the High Court, which had ruled that without the rules, more than 3 million land ownership documents issued since 2013 were invalid.

Last week, the National Assembly wrote to the Ministry of Lands informing it that the laws had been approved by the Committee on Delegated Legislation that sat on April 13.

Yesterday, Lands Cabinet Secretary Faridah Karoney said implementation of the regulations commences immediately, meaning that the titles are now legitimate.

The ministry explained that the December 2016 ruling by Justice Joseph Onguto (now deceased), and which declared that the documents were irregularly processed without the regulations in place and in consultation with the National Land Commission, has now been complied with.

Despondency

“The fear and despondency that has been hanging over our heads following the Onguto judgment, which had the effect of invalidating titles issued after the year 2013, in the event these subsidiary legislation was not made within the timelines granted by court, is now past us. Without fear or doubt, I hereby reassure the members of the public that all titles issued hitherto and after the year 2013 are good and valid,” said Ms Karoney.

Lawyer Anthony Otiende, who had sued the State and successfully obtained the orders, said he welcomed the move by MPs, but cautioned that the ministry was not off the hook yet, as it had only partially complied with the orders.

“There remains non-concurrence even in the substance of those laws. There is need to have the same reviewed in a broadly participatory fashion. While we now recognise that the regulations are in place and there is need for order and stability in land-related transactions, it needs to be noted that the ministry may not be out of the woods yet, as the order by the late Judge Onguto was not fully complied with,” he said.