Amidst numerous delayed land cases, the Ministry of Land has found itself caught in the middle of two cases that have been ongoing for over a decade.
National Assembly's Committee on Implementation has now called on the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to take over the cases and speed up the investigation process.
During a heated committee session on Tuesday, July 22, chaired by Embakasi West MP Mark Mwenje, the lawmakers expressed frustration over the Ministry’s failure to implement resolutions passed by the 12th Parliament.
The disputes involved irregular allocation of land in Nairobi's Mowlem Ward and the controversial extension of Galana Ranch boundaries in Magarini, Kilifi County.
Appearing before the Committee, David Nyandoro (Chief Land Registration Officer) distanced the Ministry from the delays, claiming that these matters fall under the jurisdiction of the National Land Commission (NLC), the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).
“These bodies are best placed to provide a status update,” Nyandoro said.
The MPs were, however, not convinced with the chair accusing the Ministry of neglect of duty, revealing that several title deeds had been fraudulently issued by ministry officials.
“The responsibility of issuing title deeds lies with the Ministry of Lands. I have copies of several titles here fraudulently issued by the ministry officials. Why have you allowed the public to continue being conned into buying this piece of land?” Mwenje posed.
Kipkelion West MP Hilary Kosgei criticised the Ministry’s report, describing it as shallow and unconvincing and alleging that Ministry fraudsters were colluding with external actors. He proposed that the DCI’s Land Fraud Office take over the investigation to ensure accountability.
The committee has now ordered the DCI to take charge of the two matters and report their findings to the Committee in 90 days.
The chair further ruled that the Ministry of Lands and the NLC get seized, embark on implementing the House resolutions on the two cases, and report to the Committee within the same period.
Other committee members present in the session were Lilian Siyoi, Ntutu Kitilai, Memusi Kanchory, and Raphael Wanjala, who supported the call for DCI intervention.
