State House to host land summit

State House on Sunday promised an engaging summit on land, pledging answers on historical injustices as well as the thorny issue of how much land a person can own.

The summit will be held on Monday at State House, Nairobi, the seventh of a series of summits that the Jubilee administration says are to explain its achievements.

State House spokesman Manoah Esipisu did not rule out the discussion of the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) report. Cord leader Raila Odinga has been pushing for a debate on the report in Parliament.

“Everything is on the table,” Mr Esipisu said about the summit at his weekly State House briefings on Sunday.

“But it is not in my place to say what the outcome will be. We will provide an opportunity to hold candid, robust discussions.”

The Jubilee administration rose to power in the 2013 elections, promising the “land answer”.

They promised to issue title deeds and deal with land injustices, with President Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto saying they would not allow the land issue to be used as a campaign tool.

Mr Odinga, on the other hand, has accused the administration of hoodwinking the Coast and Maasailand — arguably two of Kenya’s most marginalised areas in land ownership.

The Cord leader has asked the Jubilee administration to table, debate and adopt in Parliament the TJRC report that he said will address land injustices.

The TJRC, chaired by Bethuel Kiplagat, held country-wide forums and in its final report, it named land injustices as one of the biggest dangers to reconciliation, asking President Kenyatta to apologise on behalf of previous governments, which he did in May 2013.

LAND GRABBING

In Sunday's press briefing, Mr Esipisu said Land Cabinet Secretary Jacob Kaimenyi will answer questions on land grabbing and irregular title deeds, as well as corruption in land control boards.

The summit, Mr Esipisu said, will also address cases of killings related to unscrupulous land-buying companies, including the infamous Kihiu Mwiri and Mbo-i-Kamiti groups that led to the mysterious deaths of some directors of the companies.

“A Mombasa court recently ruled that a person who doesn’t develop his land for over 10 years has no right to claim ownership.

"What does this jurisprudence by Environment and Land Court Judge Anne Omollo mean to the future of land ownership?” asked Mr Esipisu as one of the questions whose answers will be provided.

On title deeds, Mr Esipisu said Prof Kaimenyi will discuss double titling and fake titles and provide assurance on the validity of the important document.

“This administration promised improved service delivery when it took office and we can demonstrate that this has extended to all spheres, including the subject of land,” Mr Esipisu said.

At the State House summits, the government enumerates its achievements and sector players poke holes in the self-assessments and ask questions in a multi-hour interactive discussion.

Cabinet secretaries have been put on their defence at the summits, with President Kenyatta keen to stamp his feet every time and demand action.

Previous summits have been held on energy, infrastructure and transport, agriculture, youth, governance and accountability, as health.