By Ogova Ondego
Published April 26, 2021
Land and property owners in Kenya have been gripped by fear, suspicion, mistrust and uncertainty after the East African country digitalised land transactions, repealed all the laws under which land was registered and ordered Land Title Conversion under two new laws.
Many participants at a public meeting that sought to sensitise stakeholders on the new requirement in the capital, Nairobi, have expressed mixed feelings, arguing that the Government is planning to take away their land, water down their right to land or even introduce new taxes on the land they hold on freehold tenure basis.
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Some participants wondered why the Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning is developing cadastres or detailed records of areas, values of land and land owners that Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) says was originally compiled by countries for purposes of taxation, if the Government of Kenya isn’t planning to impose new tax on land.
The Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning, through Gazette Notice No. 11348 of 2020, has informed Kenyans about the new legal requirement over land registration under the Land Registration Act (No.6 of 2012) and the Land Registration (Registration Units) Order of 2017.
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Farida Karoney, Lands and Physical Planning Minister, in a message delivered on her behalf by Land Secretary Esther Ogego, says the aim of the Government is to ‘enhance accountability, transparency and efficiency in land administration and management; and that the new Land Registration Act was enacted in line with Article 68 of the Constitution of Kenya to ‘revise, consolidate and rationalise the existing land laws’.
Saying the Land Registration Act of 2012 has repealed the Indian Transfer of Property Act of 1882, the Government Lands Act (Cap. 280), the Registration of Titles Act (Cap. 281), the Land Titles Act (Cap. 282) and the Registered Land Act (Cap. 300) each of which created its own register and made land registration complex, Karoney notes that the conversion process calls for the preparation of detailed land records (technically known as cadastral maps) that show the extent, value and ownership of land together with a conversion list indicating the new and the old numbers for parcels of land within the registration unit and their corresponding size.
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“The confusion occasioned by the different regimes had become a breeding ground for fraud, delays in service delivery, centralisation of land services and threats to the right to property,” Karoney contends.
Karoney says the Ministry she heads has already embarked on the migration process for land parcels within Nairobi City County (Nairobi Registration Unit) and has prepared and published a register of property titles and conversion lists for various registration sections or blocks.
“This conversion means that Registry Index Maps (RIMs) will be fully used as registration instruments, replacing the deed plans,” Karoney says. “Boundaries will not be affected because these RIMs are generated from survey plans. Both RIMs and survey plans are accessible to land owners on request for
verification of boundary details at the Survey of Kenya”
She argues that the “use of RIMs will minimise fraud. Unlike a deed plan that captures data on one
specific parcel, a Registry Index Map displays all land parcels within an area. It is therefore easy to note changes or alterations on an RIM. ”
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To ensure accountability and enhance public confidence in the exercise, Karoney, who aptly observes that ‘land issues are very sensitive in Kenya and I understand the kind of emotions that it evokes’, reassured the gathering in Nairobi that the Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning has:
- developed frequently asked questions on its website
- set up a help desk at Ardhi House
- developed media campaigns to sensitise Kenyans on this process
- set up social media engagement platforms to reach out to stakeholders, and
- in conjunction with Law Society of Kenya, developing guidelines on the land title conversion process.
The Minister’s speech was read during the Bimonthly Talk Series Forum organised by the Kenya Alliance of Resident Associations (KARA) on the subject, ‘Understanding Land Title Conversion Under the Land Registration Act (No.6 of 2012) and the Land Registration (Registration Units) Order, 2017’ on February 9, 2021.
While Abraham Samoei, President of Institution of Surveyors of Kenya,urged the Ministry to establish tracking mechanism for application of new titles to enhance transparency in the conversion process besides investing in technology such as geo referencing which helps to limit land disputes, Ibrahim Mwathane, Chairman of Land Development and Governance Institute, called for enhanced civic education on the conversion process.
