The Cabinet Secretary in the Ministry of Lands, Public Works, Housing and Urban Development, Hon. Zachariah Njeru, has today committed to ensure that all public land in the country is secured through titling.

While responding to Questions from the Honorable Senators on the Floor of the House, CS Njeru informed the Senate that the Government has started issuing titles to all public learning institutions through the national titling program, adding that this has been prompted by the rampant grabbing of public land. 

Below is an excerpt of how CS Njeru’s inaugural Question Time panned out at the Senate Chamber earlier today:  

𝗦𝗲𝗻. 𝗙𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗺𝗮 𝗗𝘂𝗹𝗹𝗼 (𝗜𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗼): Could the Cabinet Secretary state the reasons for the disparity in compensation between residents of Nuno Modogashe and Isiolo affected by the Africa Gateway Project, and further provide the criteria used in determining the compensation figures?

𝗖𝗦 𝗡𝗷𝗲𝗿𝘂: Pursuant to Article 67 of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010, the mandate of compensation for public lands is squarely on the National Lands Commission (NLC), which is an independent institution. Therefore, my request, Hon. Speaker, is that you summon the NLC so that they can adequately tackle this issue. 

𝗦𝗲𝗻. 𝗙𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗺𝗮 𝗗𝘂𝗹𝗹𝗼 (𝗜𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗼): What are the measures put in place by the Government to ensure equitable compensation to the affected residents in both areas? 

𝗖𝗦 𝗡𝗷𝗲𝗿𝘂: As a Government, we are preparing a national land value index across the country. So far, we have managed to do land value index to 22 counties and the process is remaining in the remaining 25 counties, Isiolo County being one of them. This index will enable us to compensate people adequately without overvaluing or undervaluing. 

𝗦𝗲𝗻. 𝗠𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗱 𝗖𝗵𝘂𝘁𝗲 (𝗠𝗮𝗿𝘀𝗮𝗯𝗶𝘁): Is the Cabinet Secretary aware of the land dispute between Borana, Gabbra, and Burji in Moyale and when are you going to solve the dispute?

𝗖𝗦 𝗡𝗷𝗲𝗿𝘂: I’m not aware of the land dispute in Moyale but I will look into it and give this August House a satisfactory response to that. 

𝗦𝗲𝗻. 𝗝𝗮𝗰𝗸𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗴𝗼 (𝗨𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗻 𝗚𝗶𝘀𝗵𝘂): What plans does the Ministry have to ensure that all public utilities in this country are titled? 

𝗖𝗦 𝗡𝗷𝗲𝗿𝘂: The Government is in the process of securing all public lands in the country. We have started this process with the learning institutions. As a Ministry, we are working hard to make sure all public land is secured through a national titling program.

𝗦𝗲𝗻. 𝗠𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗱 𝗔𝗯𝗯𝗮𝘀 (𝗪𝗮𝗷𝗶𝗿): When will the Ministry open regional offices to issue title deeds in Wajir County?

𝗖𝗦 𝗡𝗷𝗲𝗿𝘂: We are in the process of opening up registries in areas that had no registries to bring the services closer to Wananchi. As a Government, we are making sure that all our land records are digitized. This will help us do away with multiple issues that have been rampant in the land sector. 

𝗦𝗲𝗻. 𝗗𝗮𝗻 𝗠𝗮𝗮𝗻𝘇𝗼 (𝗠𝗮𝗸𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗶): To what extent are you able to advise or control the independence of the National Land Commission  

Hon. Njeru: The NLC is an independent institution which is supposed to work with the Ministry but there is a disconnect when it comes to operations.  

𝗦𝗲𝗻. 𝗗𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗠𝘂𝗻𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗮 (𝗧𝗮𝗻𝗮 𝗥𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿): Is the Cabinet Secretary aware of the promise of formation of a committee with representation on the ground, chaired by the Permanent Secretary, that would fast-track the issuance of title deeds in Tana River and when will it be formed? 

𝗖𝗦 𝗡𝗷𝗲𝗿𝘂: We indeed agreed with the leaders from Tana River that we will form a committee to look into matters of land. We have already started receiving memoranda from various ranches. Once that is done, we will form the committee. 

𝗦𝗲𝗻. 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗺 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗽𝘁𝘂𝗺𝗼 (𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗼): When is the Ministry going to issue titles for the residents of the Mochongoi Settlement Scheme in Baringo County? 

𝗖𝗦 𝗡𝗷𝗲𝗿𝘂: We have many settlement schemes that have not been titled, Mochongoi being one of them. We are doing everything possible to make sure that all the settlement schemes across the country receive titles. 

𝗦𝗲𝗻. 𝗠𝘄𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮 𝗚𝗮𝘁𝗮𝘆𝗮 (𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗸𝗮 𝗡𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗶): When will Chogoria Ward residents who gave out their land for a tarmac road which was being constructed almost ten years ago be compensated? 

𝗖𝗦 𝗡𝗷𝗲𝗿𝘂: I am informed by the National Lands Commission that payments are being processed and they will be paid soon. 

𝗦𝗲𝗻. 𝗔𝗴𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗞𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂 𝗠𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗮 (𝗠𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗸𝗼𝘀): Why is Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) selling the Portland land to the community despite the Portland land lease expired and the land loan being insured?

𝗖𝗦 𝗡𝗷𝗲𝗿𝘂: We are trying to get into the core problem of the Portland land. I assure you that that is an issue that the Ministry is taking with weight. We are soon going to sort it out together with the County Government of Machakos. 

𝗦𝗲𝗻. 𝗘𝘀𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗢𝗸𝗲𝗻𝘆𝘂𝗿𝗶 (𝗡𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱): What is the Ministry putting in place to deal with the issue of double allocation and multiple buyers of land in the Kisii region? 

𝗖𝗦 𝗡𝗷𝗲𝗿𝘂: I assure this House that that problem will be sorted out once we are fully digitized. As a Ministry, we have started this process with Nairobi County registries and soon we will be rolling out the same program to other counties. 

The appearance of Hon. Zachariah Mwangi Njeru in the Senate comes after the House amended its Standing Orders to allow cabinet secretaries to directly answer questions from the Honorable Senators.