Bondeni slum in Nakuru could be quietly sitting over a small gold mine.
A report by The Standard has estimated that the area where the slum lies may be one of the most expensive in the Nakuru municipality.
This is backed by the fact that a small parcel of land measuring 100ft by 50ft costs between Ksh10 million and Ksh15 million.
An even smaller 80 by 50 plot, would bring the owner sums ranging from Ksh7 million to Ksh10 million.
And yet, the residents living on top of these small fortunes only have allotment letters for the land.
Most of them, being casual workers and hawkers, can’t afford the costs of having their title deeds processed and will, more likely than not, miss out on the recent windfall.
As of December 2018, the question of giving title deeds to slum dwellers had begun on a high note.
According to a report by The Standard on December 6, 2018, residents of Majengo, Likii, Manguo, Luonienk and Kwa Maina slums in Laikipia were to be the first to benefit.
The move by the government aimed to issue 35,000 land titles.
The goal at the time, according to Lands Cabinet Secretary, Farida Karoney, was to guard against land grabbing which had grown increasingly common.
“We have committed ourselves to register parcels of land across the country that we feel are lying idle with grabbers eyeing them. It will be an expensive exercise, but we must all be committed and not let the exercise fail.”
The title deed run, which seems to have stalled, may have served the residents of Nakuru well in benefiting from the appreciation of the land they live on.
However, they may still acquire their title deeds with help from the World Bank.
This is going by a statement from the County Executive for Housing, Infrastructure and Planning, Francis Mwangi.
Mwangi stated that the World Bank would help some residents acquire titles for their land.
The courtesy will be extended to Bondeni residents since the area will benefit Kenya Urban Support Programme (KUSP), funded by the World Bank.
Infrastructure from KUSP will see the price of the plots increase as it gets elevated to a mid-level estate.
