Matter of land leases should be handled in accordance with law

The spirit of the new Constitution, of honouring those who heroically struggled to bring freedom and justice to this land, set in motion a major step in correcting historical injustices.

One of those injustices concerns land and was the major cause for the rise of the Mau Mau armed struggle. The freedom fighters believed that land would be restored to its rightful owners and that independence would be achieved. These they did not fully achieve.

When they came out of the forest, they found a new black master who spoke their language but behaved pretty much like the old colonial one.

While their sons and daughters went to the forest to join the struggle for independence, those of the African colonial chiefs, homeguards, and colonial sympathisers were in school.

By the time independence was declared, the learned young Kenyans were ready to fill the vacancies left by the departing white men. Many of these new administrators got busy “building the nation” and soon forgot the reasons for the struggle for independence.

The hopes and aspirations of our forefathers may have been forgotten, but they have always been very much alive. In 2010, they were rekindled by the new Constitution, especially Article 65, the cause of nightmares for non-Kenyans and foreign multinationals who own land in the country. The old constitution gave them land on leasehold for 999 years. This continuous hold on land from generation to generation came to an end when then President Mwai Kibaki signed the new Constitution. All the 999-year leases were converted to 99 years.

NOT GRANTED

While a Kenyan owning land whose lease has expired is entitled to apply for an extension, this privilege was not granted to non-Kenyans. The law says that when this happens, the land goes to the national or county government.

Other than dimming the future of foreign land owners, this clause has raised emotions in counties in the former Rift Valley, Central, and Coast provinces, where most of the land with expired and soon-to-expire leases is located. Counties have declined to renew these leases and residents are hoping that these huge tracts of land will be sub-divided and distributed among them.

This land could become a curse to this nation if the issue is not handled well and soberly. We must ask ourselves whether it is practical to split up this land into small parcels that will make it less productive, as happened in Zimbabwe, which was one of Africa’s bread baskets but can now no longer feed its people.

There is also the danger that this might become another opportunity for those in authority to appropriate public land for themselves and their cronies. This happened soon after independence when influential individuals allocated themselves thousands of acres of land. It continued during the rule of Daniel arap Moi, when government land and houses and public forests and water towers were shamelessly grabbed.

The land with expired leases and occupied by squatters should be distributed to those living on it. However, Kenya should not make the mistake that Zimbabwe did, forcefully taking over land owned by foreigners. Our constitution is very clear on the procedure to follow in all matters concerning land and the law should be allowed to take its course.

This is why the National Land Commission must handle the matter of expired and soon-to-expire land leases independently, with fairness, and in accordance with the law for the good of the nation.

Andrew Maina is a businessman in Thika; [email protected].