Swazuri names areas with pending land issues

The National Land Commission (NLC) has identified land hot spots as next year’s General Election approaches.

NLC Chairman Muhammad Swazuri identified the Coast, North-Eastern and Rift Valley as regions that have suffered the greatest land historical injustices in the country.

The country’s land hottest spots include Diani, Chale Island, Tiwi, Waa, Msambweni, Kombani, Shimba Hills and Vanga in Kwale County, Kilifi-Jimba, Gede/Chembe Kibabamche, Madeteni, Kikambala and Mtwapa in Kilifi County, Bububu, Kisauni, Bamburi, Utange, Shanzu, kalmia Upepo near Serena in Mombasa County and various areas in Lamu County, including Nyongoro, Lake Kenyatta 1 and 11, he said.

Land is an emotive issue in the country and has been linked to many flare-ups of ethnic clashes and deadly conflicts that have caused death and destruction of property.

“On Chale Island in Diani, Kwale County, for example, 100 per cent of the title deeds are in the hands of foreigners despite the fact that local residents were allocated the land between 1969 and 1974,” said Prof Swazuri.

He said that in Kuresoi in Nakuru County, Nandi, Gucha in Kisii County and Kiambu County in Central Kenya have many problems, said the chairman.

He said that 75 per cent of the conflicts date back to pre-colonial times through the occupancy of the Coast by the Portuguese, Germans British and Sultan of Zanzibar.

In Taita Taveta, areas that border mineral rich zones have problems too while those bordering national parks have experienced serious human-wildlife conflicts.

In Kwale County, new conflicts include those around mineral areas such Mrima Hill with rare earth and Titanium while areas where oil has been discovered such as in Turkana, fresh land conflicts have also erupted, he said.

“Only 25 per cent of the conflicts are independence time problems. The others date back 200 years ago and so, don’t expect my commission to solve them in a short time,” he said.