New land law to tackle injustices
What you need to know:
- “We want this to be the last effort of resolving land issues. We will square off all reports by other task forces on land to come up with a system we all agree with,” Dr Tororei said.
- It will code the issues raised by different communities, individuals and groups to determine what constitutes historical injustices and give steps to remedy those affected.
- Up to 50 per cent of arable land in Kenya is in the hands of only 20 percent of the population while 67 per cent of landowners possess below an acre parcels on average.
The National Land Commission is drafting a law that will address historical land injustices.
The law, which may be tabled in Parliament by February next year, seeks to draw guidelines to handle all the issues behind land disputes in Kenya since independence.
It will code the issues raised by different communities, individuals and groups to determine what constitutes historical injustices and give steps to remedy those affected.
The law will be drafted by a task force headed by NLC Commissioner Samuel Tororei.
The task force is receiving input from the public until September 30.
ALSO READ : NGILU DIGS UP 125,000 LAND FILES IN CLEAN-UP
Dr Tororei pointed out that the taskforce intended to set up mechanism for determining whether to compensate, restore land or recommend an apology if a historical injustice is proved to have been committed.
The task force, which was appointed in May this year, will also decide which body will handle the cases.
SQUARE OFF ALL REPORTS
“We want this to be the last effort of resolving land issues. We will square off all reports by other task forces on land to come up with a system we all agree with,” Dr Tororei said.
He pointed out that in South Africa, historical injustices were dealt with in 10 years after which the cases could not be revisited.
Historical land injustices have been a thorny issue in Kenya with subsequent regimes tossing the issue around due to its sensitivity.
Up to 50 per cent of arable land in Kenya is in the hands of only 20 percent of the population while 67 per cent of landowners possess below an acre parcels on average.
Several efforts captured in the Ndung’u and Truth Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) reports have not been implemented.
“We are calling on Kenyans to give their input into this law because every community will have a different way they would want their issues addressed,” Dr Tororei said.
