Lands services crippled by legal gaps and struggle for control of title deeds

Processing of title deeds has been put on hold since January, following the scrapping of the position of Commissioner of Lands.

The suspension of processing means that no title deeds are being issued, according to National Land Commission (NLC) vice-chairman Abigail Mukolwe.

Consequently, hundreds of title deed applications from different parts of the country are pending at Ardhi House in Nairobi.

“It’s true title deed transactions had been stopped, and this adversely affected service delivery,” Ms Mukolwe said Tuesday.

Lawyers involved in land matters say that their clients are facing problems due to confusion at the Lands ministry.

Lands Cabinet Secretary Charity Ngilu and NLC chairman Mohamed Swazuri have been wrangling over who has the power to register land documents.

Differences between the two officials have also delayed the enactment of new land rules and regulations and the appointment of land registrars.

Lawyer Benson Nyenjeri from Robson Harris and Company Advocates said those adversely affected were property developers seeking sub-leases for apartments built on land whose title deeds were initially single — homes converted to multi-dwelling.

“Others are those who have converted their agricultural land into residential plots and those who want to change their residential plots into commercial plots,” he said.

People who have applied for new title deeds from different parts of the country cannot be issued with them because the transitional clause in the Constitution vested powers to issue title deeds in the office of the Commissioner of Lands.

The previous Commissioner of Lands, Mr Zablon Mabea, was transferred to the Ministry of Interior in January and his duties taken up by the acting Director-General of Lands, Mr Peter Kahuho. The position of Commissioner of Lands was scrapped.

However, confusion is stalking the ministry over whether Mr Kahuho should be gazetted to sign land titles.

Signatory to titles

Under transitional clauses in land laws, Mr Mabea, a presidential appointee, had been a signatory to titles endorsed by the NLC.

However, the new officer appointed by the Public Service Commission cannot sign land titles in what the ministry admits is a legal vacuum.

Two weeks ago, Law Society of Kenya chairman Eric Mutua said land transactions were grinding to a halt because of the feuding between the Lands Cabinet Secretary and the NLC chairman.

Mr Mutua said issuing title deeds, transfer of land ownership and renewal of land leases were being done as “discretionary guesswork”.

Reacting to the raging controversy recently, Mrs Ngilu, confirmed that there were no new registration documents issued by government.

“Sections 160, 161 of the Land Act and Sections 108 and 110 of the Land Registration Act require that any new forms can only come into place after regulations have been approved by Parliament,” she said in a statement.

Mrs Ngilu said her ministry was still working to complete its regulations and therefore could not issue new forms.

“The titles that were signed by the former Commissioner of Lands will have a new signatory once we complete the regulations,” she said.

She says all the other processes of land allocation are continuing as per the law.