Raila tells MPs to shoot down new land law

Coast MPs have been asked to gang up with colleagues from other regions and shoot down a proposed law on land management.

Cord leader Raila Odinga claimed that the Community Land Bill is a ploy by the Jubilee government to hand management of land issues back to the Lands ministry.

“We know Jubilee did not support devolution from the beginning and that is why even after land was devolved to the counties, they came up with this new Bill which will return land management to Nairobi. MPs from this region should be on the lookout for these tricks,” Mr Odinga said on Saturday.

The Bill proposes that land owned by communities and previously held in trust by local authorities be registered in the names of the individual communities.

Mr Odinga said the Bill is one of four that would be used trim the powers of the National Land Commission and hand them to the ministry.

Mr Odinga was speaking during the burial of former Bahari MP Benedict Gunda at Kizingo Chonyi, Kilifi County.

“You carry the hopes of the coastal people and you can repay them by making sure that the Community Land Bill does not see the light of day,” he said.

HISTORICAL INJUSTICES

He said the coast region had suffered historical injustices in terms of land.

“From previous regimes to the current one led by President Uhuru Kenyatta, coast has not had a reprieve in terms of historical injustices, especially on land matters. It is time you spoke with one voice to address the historical injustices,” he said.

Kilifi Governor Amason Kingi told the legislators that allowing the Bill to pass would be suicidal for the coastal people.

Describing it as sweets laced with poison, he said: “We know you are very aggressive and have a proper understanding of the land problems in the region since time immemorial. The only option is to shoot it down,” he said.

The governor said residents were keenly following the efforts of their MPs and it would not augur well with them if they failed to stop the Bill.

“We are watching. If you fail to mobilise your colleagues and shoot it down, we will be waiting for you here. The verdict of the electorate might be harsh on you,” he added.

Parliament Minority Chief Whip Thomas Mwadeghu advised fellow legislators to ensure the Bill failed.

“If we fail to shoot down this Bill, we are doomed. We should forget about being elected in the 2017 General Election. I am sure the judgment by the electorate will be harsh,” Mr Mwadeghu said.

OTHERS PRESENT
The Wundanyi MP said that the lawmakers will meet this week to discuss the Bill and urged his colleagues to attend.

Other leaders who attended the burial were Kilifi Senator Stewart Madzayo, his Voi counterpart Dan Mwazo, Nominated Senator Emma Mbura, Kaloleni MP Gunga Mwinga, Kilifi South MP Mustapha Iddi, his Kilifi North counterpart Gedion Mungaro, Mombasa Deputy Governor Hazel Katana, Rabai MP William Kamoti, Kilifi Woman Representative Asha Jumwa and her Mombasa counterpart Mishi Mboko.

Kinango MP Gonzi Rai, Mvita MP Abdulswamad Sharrif Nassir and Kisauni MP Rashid Bedzimba were also there.