Experts, leaders query proposed law seeking to limit size of private land

Farmers pick tea in Nandi County. A new bill proposes that individuals in agricultural-rich areas own a maximum of 10 hectares (24.7 acres) and a minimum of one hectare (2.5 acres). [PHOTO: FILE/STANDARD]

A proposed law seeking to limit the size of private land ownership has sparked controversy, with questions as to how the ceilings were arrived at and warnings that this could be a “recipe for chaos” if implemented.

MPs and land experts were apprehensive about the provisions on land redistribution detailed in the Minimum and Maximum Land Holding Acreage Bill 2015, which has been forwarded to Parliament by acting Lands Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i.