Ministry has no power to dish out land, rules court

The Ministry of Lands has no powers to deal with any public land that has not been transferred and subdivided, the High Court has ruled.

This mandate lies expressly with the National Lands Commission (NLC), Malindi High Court judge Oscar Angote said.

QUASH THE DIRECTIONS

He made the ruling following an application by Lamu resident Mohamed Mbwana Shee, who had sought judicial review orders to quash the directions of the Lamu County Commissioner.

In an August 23, 2012 letter regarding land in Mvundeni, the county commissioner directed that the community land be subdivided and given to private individuals.

Mr Shee also queries the allocation of Sh1.5 million from the Constituency Development Fund to finance the proposed land adjudication, which he termed as unlawful.

In his affidavit, he claimed that the Mvundeni area falls within the mandate of the NLC, which therefore ought to manage it as provided for by the Constitution.

The settlement officer countered that a meeting held in Mombasa in 2006 had resolved that the land be demarcated and distributed to residents.

APPROVAL WAS GIVEN

He said the settlement project was initiated following a request by community leaders and residents to the director of adjudication and settlement and written approval given.

As such, he said, there was nothing wrong with the land in Mvundeni area being subdivided, allocated and registered in the names of the local residents. He added that the financing of the settlement using the CDF funds was envisaged by the CDF Act.

However, Justice Angote noted that the respondents who are holders of a public office, did not have the jurisdiction to carry out the resettlement.

“In my view, any dealing in unalienated government land as defined by the Constitution could only be dealt with as provided for in the Constitution,” he said.