MPs say Lamu land grabbers must return it

A parliamentary committee has directed that grabbed land in Lamu County should be identified and the title deeds revoked.

In a report awaiting debate in Parliament, the Lands and Natural Resources Committee also proposed that the names of all those who own land in Lamu be made public.

It said Kenyans must know who owns land in the county, its size and when it was acquired.

The move seeks to expose people who quietly backdated their title deeds to avoid their revocation.

The committee, chaired by Mr Mutava Musyimi, accused chiefs, assistant chiefs, district officers and district commissioners of illegally allocating government land in collusion with Lands ministry workers.

The House team visited Lamu and was told that the county council had been sidelined in the land allocations. Even local MPs and village elders had no idea when the land was allocated to individuals, most of them not indigenous to Lamu.

The committee report says residents are unhappy that three quarters of the land in Lamu, including what is designated community or trust land in other areas, is owned by the State.

“Countless meetings have been held with former and serving Lands minister, the Prime Minister, presidential commissions of inquiry and the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission on the land issue but there has been no relief,” the report added.

The residents told the committee they were against a government decision to set up a settlement scheme and wanted the case of their ancestral land adjudicated.

“Ancestral land in Lamu is classified as trust land. If effect, residents living on that trust land will be treated as squatters. Steps must be taken to ensure that the ancestral land owners in Lamu do not lose their interest,” the report says.
To the residents, the move to set up settlement schemes is proof of the failure to deal with “historical injustices” on land issues.

If the government succeeds in implementing the plan, the locals say, this would be tantamount to perpetuating the injustices.

The MPs are also categorical that individuals who bought land in backroom deals in anticipation of a price increase sparked by the Lamu Port project should be kicked out without compensation.

The MPs also recommended that the National Land Commission investigates the land problems in Lamu.