How independence era leaders laid their hands on lands of quitting whites

Failure by the British government and World Bank to provide enough money to buy all the land in the Scheduled Areas, also known as White Highlands, kick-started a private treaty land buying spree that tilted the balance in favour of the political elite, senior civil servants and business people.

Land Records and correspondence indicate that by December 1966, Mr Kenyatta bought more than 3895 acres in Nairobi and Ruiru at a total cost of Sh472,740.

The land was registered in either Mr Kenyatta’s or his wife Mama Ngina’s names, or in his two eldest sons Peter Magana, and Peter Muigai.

Hitherto unseen documents and records show that the Government also gave Mr Kenyatta some 178 acres in Nairobi and he got a further 509 acres leading the pack of big land ownership in the country.

Land for free had been ruled out by the British government during the negotiations for independence and a constitutional clause that guaranteed whites their “right to property” and which brought to the fore the “sanctity of title deed”.

That paved the way for the independence politicians, led by the Kenyatta family, to strike a fortune by “buying” land from fleeing white owners in Scheduled Areas.

From available records, it appears that most of the political leaders, businessmen and land buying companies capitalised on the new government’s inability to buy all the land on offer.

Actually, failure by British government to commit more money to buy land in the White Highlands is today regarded as the trigger to this free-for-all land-buying spree which left the penniless scrapping for tiny pieces of shambas. It also triggered land exchanges hitherto unseen in the history of this country.

Land changed hands in quick succession as thousands of desperate white farmers with no other recourse than to sell their land opted to leave. Politicians with power and money as well as businessmen with liquid cash managed to acquire thousands of acres creating a new African elite.

It is these transactions that have for years formed national discourse on whether the land, especially in the Rift Valley and other Scheduled Areas was rightly acquired or was a part of land grabbing. But details in government books show that indeed some of the land was bought from individuals.

Still landless

But what is questionable is why the government allowed individuals to own huge tracts of land when millions were still landless.

For instance, hardly a year into Kenyatta’s regime, Mama Ngina bought 1,006 acres in Dandora from Messrs Hendrik Rensburg for Sh200,000. One government documents puts the figure at Sh2,000,000—an astronomical sum at the time. Whichever figure was right this farm lies within the modern day Dandora Estate in Nairobi and beyond.

In the same area, Peter Muigai Kenyatta bought for Sh51,000 some 700 acres and a further 1266 acres North East of Nairobi for Sh87,000.

The only farm registered in Jomo Kenyatta’s name in 1964 was a 5 acre farm he bought from a Mr J.R. Wood for Sh400! His two sons, Muigai and Magana also bought 165 acres in Ruiru for Sh9,900 – meaning they bought an acre for Sh60.