Show goers flock Mombasa land commission’s stand with complaints on land disputes

The National Land Commission’s stand in this year’s Mombasa International Agricultural Show has attracted huge interest.

Officials at the stand have been receiving hundreds of questions related to land ownership and disputes.

Most of those who visited the stand had land problems and wanted to know how they could be resolved.

The complaints ranged from delayed issuance of title deeds, succession disputes, fraud, double allocations to squatter problems and compensation.

Ms Jennifer Wambua, the commission’s deputy director of communications said they received more complaints in Mombasa than in any other previous event.

This is the first time that the commission has a stand at the Mombasa ASK show which is being held at the Mkomani Grounds in Nyali Constituency.

Acting Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Adan Mohamed was the chief guest on Wednesday.

INFORMATION CENTRES

Ms Wambua said the commission would set up land information dissemination centres in all counties to boost public understanding of ownership rights and feedback collection.

The information desks, to be known as land clinic centres, would be one-stop resource centres where people will present their complaints and receive responses from the commission’s officials stationed there.

The land clinics will be set up before the end of 2015.

These, she added, would be expected to ease the access of information and increase the process of application for title deeds.

“These clinics are very comprehensive and they will ensure that all complaints are registered and forwarded to the commission for action.

“These centres will be established through county land management boards,” she said.

She noted that most people are not aware of the process involved in acquisition of the title deeds.

Besides, they have no idea of how title deeds look like.

In each information desks, the commission will set up a specimen which will help in explaining to the public the procedures and steps that are necessary during the exercise.

Ms Wambua said the information centres will save the public from travelling far distances to follow up their tile deeds.

“People will not have to travel to far places to register complaints or even start the process of acquiring title deeds.

“We will have staff members stationed in every centre who will be responding to land questions and forward the complaints to the National Land Commission for action,” she said.

Wednesday, the commission received more than 100 complaints from people who thronged their tent seeking for help.