News
Protest as government buys back grabbed land
Lands minister James Orengo. Photo/William Oeri
Posted Thursday, October 15 2009 at 22:00
In Summary
- Orengo goes against Ndung’u report but says he has no power to seize property
The Lands Ministry has been criticised for buying grabbed or illegally acquired land contrary to recommendations of a commission of inquiry into irregular allocations.
The commission of inquiry chaired by Mr Paul Ndung’u, which was also known as the Ndung’u commission, had recommended that the government should repossess all illegally acquired land.
But on Thursday, Lands minister James Orengo said the government was buying some of the land to resettle victims of the 2007 post-election violence.
According to the minister, the government lacked the mechanism to take over grabbed public land.
In 2005, the then Lands minister Amos Kimunya tabled a list of names of people who had been given land illegally. When the list from the Ndung’u report was presented in Parliament, some individuals voluntarily returned their parcels. However, they were not named to protect their identities.
At the time, a member of the Ndung’u commission, Mr Wanyiri Kihoro, said there were only 20 to 25 titles surrendered — most of which were for small pieces of land in Karura and Ngong forests.
This year, the Lands ministry launched a campaign to acquire idle land through the “Land Bank” programme under which the ministry offers to buy land at prevailing market rates starting from next month.
An advertisement has already been placed in national newspapers asking those willing to sell their land to inform the ministry.
Former minister
During a workshop in Nairobi on Thursday, the coordinator of the Kenya Land Alliance, Mr Lumumba Odenda said the government intends to buy land from a former Cabinet minister.
According to him, the Ndung’u report had indicated that the land in Molo was acquired irregularly. The workshop was convened by the Lands ministry to brief Members of Parliament on the draft National Land Policy.
“There are several people named as grabbers in the Ndung’u report selling land they had illegally acquired. And they are selling the land to same government which they grabbed the land from?” Mr Odenda said.
In response, Mr Orengo said: “We don’t have the mechanism to repossess some of this land.
“If after the acquisition that land was developed, it cannot be taken without paying something,” he said.
The minister also said there wasn’t enough land for use by the government. “The government cannot even get land to resettle IDPs.
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Submitted by 83kimaPosted October 17, 2009 07:28 AM
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Submitted by mawingo130
Kenyan leaders are really sickening.The cabinet is full of thieves from Moi regime.Land grabbers are like bank robbers.I dont understand why the the latter are sprayed with bullets on the spot,while the former are rewarded by the banks(govt) they robbed.Kenyan leaders should be wiped out and buried in mass graves.We are struggling to buy a 40 by 80 plot while these morons are sarcastically riding in custom-made benz,volvos,bmws while Kenyans are dying of hunger and sleeping in the cold.Washindwe!
Posted October 17, 2009 03:40 AM -
Submitted by njeridiva
who are these 20-25 annonymous thugs who returned land voluntarily?parliaments decision to protect known theives from indictment or even public scrutiny is testament to its resolve to maintain the status quo.how did the executive arrive at the logic that theives should be rewarded for getting caught?had the spotlight not have been cast upon them would they have given up their ill gotten lands?if you caught a theif with your goods would you offer to buy them back,or put the fear of god in him?
Posted October 17, 2009 01:12 AM -
Submitted by Brimani
This people never seem to get it. They can do whatever they want and we the people have no powers to anything about it. I bet you it is being done so that they can amass war chests for the next elections. When they disagree they will then look for the mwananchi and ask them to fight and kill each other to get their point across.
Posted October 17, 2009 01:12 AM -
Submitted by Nangayapaa
This is great! The gov't has set precedence. All you landless Kenyans run to the nearest national park or settler plantation and start fencing off parcels of land and begin constructing huts/houses/tents etc. When the owners or game wardens come to evict you, tell them you will be willing to sell the land back to them. Reapeat that several times and you will be eligible for parliament! You can't make this crap up!
Posted October 16, 2009 11:34 PM
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It's like watching a movie where you know the ending, but you keep trying to edit it, lakini it has already been written. Totally powerless. And will the land ever be reallocated to those who need it? Forget it. If Mr Orengo truly believes that he has exhausted all avenues, why didn't he propose a change of law to act retrospectively so that the public could debate and pressure representatives? Where there's no will...