Lawyers contest beach plots rule
Lawyers have challenged a requirement by the lands office that transfer of beach plots should have Presidential consent.
The Mombasa Law Society (MLS) says the condition is unconstitutional and unjustified as it is not stipulated in law.
The lawyers, who say the condition is discriminatory as it only affects the coast, want the court to issue a temporary injunction restraining lands officials in Mombasa, Kilifi, Kwale and Lamu from demanding the Presidential consent before registering transfers or leases for the beach plots.
In an affidavit, MLS chairman Mohammed Balala says the procedure, which takes a long time and inflates transfer costs, is riddled with graft.
He also says the requirement does not apply anywhere else in the country.
Individuals’ rights
“This requirement denies Kenyans their constitutional right to equitable access to land as it violates individuals’
rights to own property in any part of the country,” he says.
Mombasa High Court judge Lady Justice Maureen Odero declined to issue orders but certified the matter as urgent and directed the respondents be served before the case is mentioned on Thursday.
