MPs reject land clause in draft constitution

• Proposal to have land commission will be dealt with under an Act, House team says

The Parliamentary Select Committee was Monday reported to have deleted a section in the revised draft establishing a National Lands Commission.

The MPs are said to have taken the action because of the anticipated laws that will follow the National Land Policy, which was passed by Parliament in December.

“There was a feeling that the issues in the draft will be taken care of by the proposed national land policy,” an MP told the Daily Nation.

Community land

All references to community land are also said to have been removed from the draft. Unconfirmed reports from the meeting indicated that the MPs want the provisions placed in Acts of Parliament.

Sources also indicated that Lands minister James Orengo, who is also a member of the committee, was mandated to table a Bill taking care of the issues raised. The proposed National Land Act is expected to enact the provisions of the policy.

But it was still unclear by Monday evening which other sections of the chapter on land the committee had recommended be removed from the draft.

Under the National Land Policy, all land laws will be consolidated and a National Land Commission set up to be the custodian of public land and to administer all land across the country.

The government has also been given the green light to reduce the controversial colonial 999-year leases to 99 years, which has been fiercely opposed by beneficiaries.

Similar provisions are provided for in the draft being reviewed by MPs in Naivasha. The document proposes that the National Land Commission manage public land on behalf of the national and devolved governments.

PSC is also to recommend to the national government a national land policy and investigate disputes about land ownership, occupation and access to public land in any area as provided for by legislation.

The 26 members of the Parliamentary Select Committee on law reform started their second week of negotiations yesterday on contentious issues in the draft.

They made remarkable progress in the first week, reaching agreements on the most contentious issues, such as system of government and the executive.

On Monday, the MPs invited scholars in Christianity and Islam to help them reach a decision on whether to retain Kadhi courts in the proposed constitution.

Debate on the Kadhi Courts, which have ignited sharp differences between Christian churches and Muslims, was resolved when MPs agreed to retain the kadhi courts in the draft constitution.

“There has been no disagreement whatsoever over this issue,” Mr Ababu Namwamba, the vice-chairman of the PSC.

The MPs, who had taken a weekend off, gathered at the Great Rift Valley Lodge to discuss remaining chapters and, possibly, revisit some that were not fully exhausted.

PSC chairman Mohamed Abdikadir said he expected the team to conclude debate on the draft by the end of Tuesday.