Cabinet Secretary for Lands, Public Works, Housing and Urban Development Alice Wahome has assured the Senate that her Ministry is taking concrete steps to secure the land occupied by Martin Luther Primary School in Nairobi while also fast tracking the processing and issuance of title deeds for beneficiaries of more than 200 plots in Marsabit County.

 

Appearing before the Senate to respond to questions from Senators, with the lead questions coming from Senators Edwin Sifuna (Nairobi), Mohamed Chute (Marsabit), and Hamida Kibwana (Nominated), the Cabinet Secretary provided updates on the ownership status of the land occupied by Martin Luther Primary School in Makadara Constituency, the historical transactions relating to the property, measures taken to safeguard the school's occupation and the progress made in processing leases for hundreds of plots along Nyayo Road in Marsabit County.

 

𝑶𝒘𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒏 𝑳𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝑷𝒓𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝑺𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒍 𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒅

 

Responding to Senator Sifuna's question on the ownership status of Land Reference Number 209/4401, where Martin Luther Primary School is situated, the Cabinet Secretary explained that the parcel has long been held by the local authority.

 

She told the Senate that L.R. No. 209/4401 (IR No. 12431) is situated in Nairobi Municipality, in the former Nairobi Extra Provincial District (now Nairobi City County).

 

The Cabinet Secretary further informed the House that the land was registered in favour of the City Council of Nairobi on 23 March 1956 for a term of 99 years from 1 November 1953.

According to the Ministry, the parcel measures approximately 104.5 acres, equivalent to 42.31 hectares, and is clearly identified on Survey Plan Number 55114.

 

 

𝑯𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒚

 

Addressing the history of transactions affecting the property, CS Wahome said the original parcel was subsequently subdivided following approval granted in September 1957.

She explained that L.R. No. 209/4401 was registered in the name of the City Council of Nairobi (now Nairobi City County), which was responsible for planning, surveying, and the subsequent allocation of the resultant sub-plots to beneficiaries, including public institutions.

 

The Cabinet Secretary added that on 24 September 1957, approval for the subdivision was granted, and since then, the City Council of Nairobi has been issuing leases to various entities and individuals, as reflected in entries numbers 3–882 on the title.

 

She further noted that, from time to time, the County Government has been allocating and issuing sub-leases arising from the subdivisions of the original land parcel.

 

𝑬𝒏𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒔

 

In response to concerns raised by the Board of Management of Martin Luther Primary School regarding alleged encroachment and attempts to grab land occupied by the institution, the Cabinet Secretary said the Ministry had not received any formal complaints.

 

She informed Senators that the Ministry has no records of complaints regarding encroachment on the land occupied by Martin Luther Primary School. However, she added that the Ministry has requested the headteacher to forward any complaints to the Ministry.

 

The Cabinet Secretary nevertheless acknowledged that the school had asserted ownership over a different parcel, L.R. No. 209/10466.

 

According to Ministry records presented to the Senate, the parcel, measuring approximately 2.150 hectares, is registered in the name of Thabiti Enterprise Company Limited. CS Wahome stated that the grant was issued for a 99 year term effective from 1st April 1982, with the grant issued in June 1986 and registered in July of the same year. She also informed Senators that the property was charged to Standard Chartered Bank Africa PLC in December 1986.

 

The Cabinet Secretary explained that a comparison between the original survey plan for L.R. No. 209/4401 and the subsequent Part Development Plan indicates that L.R. No. 209/10466 does not form part of the original school land.

 

She told the House that the survey suggests L.R. No. 209/10466 was hived off from L.R. No. 211/R.

 

 

𝑺𝒆𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒍 𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒅

 

To safeguard the institution's continued occupation, the Cabinet Secretary announced that the Ministry had undertaken administrative measures to provide the school with a secure legal framework for ownership.

 

"I have taken a ministerial decision to survey the parcel of land occupied by Martin Luther Primary School as per the PDP we have attached," revealed CS Wahome.

 

Following the survey exercise, the Ministry established a new parcel identified as Nairobi/Block 56/853, measuring approximately 3.418 hectares, equivalent to 8.44 acres.

 

She further disclosed that a lease has since been processed in the name of the Nairobi City County Government to hold the land in trust for Martin Luther Primary School.

 

According to CS Wahome, the lease documentation has already been transmitted to the Nairobi City County Government for execution before the Ministry proceeds with the issuance of a certificate of title.

 

"The lease document has been forwarded to the County Secretary, Nairobi City County Government, for execution and verification, after which my Ministry shall proceed to issue a certificate of title," explained CS Wahome.

 

 

𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒐𝒏 𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒔𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒔

 

The Cabinet Secretary also responded to questions from Senator Mohamed Chute regarding the registration of approximately 214 plots, identified as Plot Numbers 570–686, situated along Nyayo Road in Marsabit County.

 

She informed the Senate that the Ministry had received Letters of Allotment from the National Land Commission for the purpose of lease processing and registration.

 

According to CS Wahome, the Directorate of Land Administration subsequently opened correspondence files for the respective parcels in readiness for processing the leases. A detailed matrix showing beneficiaries and the relevant correspondence files was submitted to the House.

Addressing concerns over delays in issuing title deeds despite allotment letters having been issued in 2018 and payments being made in 2024, the Cabinet Secretary explained that the processing timeline was influenced by the conditions attached to the Letters of Allotment.

 

"Letters of Allotment in themselves do not confer rights to land. They are offers, which are subject to certain terms and conditions," she told the Senators.

 

The Cabinet Secretary explained that acceptance of the offer and payment of the prescribed fees within the stipulated period are among the standard conditions attached to such letters.

 

She further noted that although the Letters of Allotment for the Marsabit parcels were issued in 2018, the respective allottees did not make the requisite payments until 2024.

 

Despite the delayed payments, the CS said the Ministry proceeded with preparatory work by opening correspondence files and processing survey information submitted by a licensed surveyor engaged by the allottees.

 

She informed the Senate that the Ministry also carried out quality control procedures, authenticated survey plans, and amended the relevant Registry Index Maps in preparation for registration.

 

 

𝑴𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒚 𝒇𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒔 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈

 

On measures taken to accelerate the issuance of title deeds, the Cabinet Secretary said substantial progress had already been made.

 

She told the Senate that leases for 204 parcels have been processed and collected by the Land Registrar in charge of Isiolo and Marsabit counties for execution, affixing passport size photographs, attaching copies of national identity cards and KRA PIN certificates and verification by the owners before registration and the issuance of Certificates of Lease.

 

The Cabinet Secretary added that efforts are continuing to ensure all remaining beneficiaries are accommodated.

 

"My Ministry is also working with officials of the County Government of Marsabit to provide the missing details for the remaining plots in order to have all the leases processed," revealed the CS.

 

 

𝑹𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝑺𝒆𝒏. 𝑲𝒊𝒃𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒂'𝒔 𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏

 

The CS sought the deferment of Senator Hamida Kibwana's question, arguing that she needed more time to submit a comprehensive response. Speaker Amason Kingi granted the request, informing the Cabinet Secretary that the House would invite her at a later date to respond to the question.