Parliament has withdrawn the Lands Laws (Amendment) Bill 2023 sponsored by National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung'wah.
The withdrawal followed a letter from the Kikuyu MP seeking to withdraw the bill after what he revealed as a consultation with sector stakeholders.
In the letter dated January 13, 2024, which bore a rubberstamp from National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula's office, Ichung'wah requested that the House Business Committee be notified of the withdrawal.
"As you are aware, during the meeting of the House Business Committee, I had notified the Committee not to prioritize the consideration of the Bill to allow for consultations with the Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning and the National Land Commission," read the letter in part.
"It is also noteworthy that there are various ensuing constitutional and legal issues arising from the Bill. In this regard, the Executive had further advised on the need for the ensuing issues to be addressed and resolved before further consideration of the Bill."
"Having consulted with the relevant stakeholders, this is now to confirm that the Majority Party has withdrawn the Bill. Consequently, I request that the House Business Committee be notified of the withdrawal of the Bill and that no further consideration of the Bill should be undertaken," added the letter.
A key amendment in the bill was the introduction of an annual levy on freehold land in urban areas.
"The owner of any freehold land situated within the boundaries of any urban area or city shall pay an annual land levy equivalent to land rent charged on a comparable leasehold land or property of the same size in the same zone," read the bill in part.
Only owners of freehold land put to agricultural use would be exempted from the annual land levy.
Also, the bill, which was considered punitive, handed county governments the power to compulsorily acquire parcels deemed necessary.
Ichung'wah's decision to withdraw the bill came in the midst of intense heat against the ruling coalition to withdraw the Finance Bill 2024 in its entirety.
After intense protests, President William Ruto shelved the entire bill and promised to incorporate the views of the youth in future bills.
