The Nairobi Metropolitan Service (NMS) Director-General Mohammed Badi said on Tuesday, February 16 that it is working with the Nairobi county government to issue title deeds to public schools, a move that will weed out land grabbers.
The title deeds will only be issued to land owned by public schools solving a long-running issue that has left land allocated to public schools at the mercy of government officials.
Badi said that they will be issuing vacation notices to help the landowners sort out their land ownership documents before NMS takes action.
“It’s only at NMS where efficiency meets effectiveness. Despite the land being a thorny issue in the county, we will act swiftly and all schools will have genuine title deeds,” said Badi.
Speaking while issuing bursaries worth Ksh503 million, Badi said that despite verbal warnings, land grabbing continues to be rampant.
The chairman of the Budget Oversight Committee Jackson Gichuguma said that most schools in Nairobi have been facing land grabbing issues.
According to Gichuguma, land grabbers in Nairobi have found a way of manipulating the law and soon some schools will have no playing grounds.
“It’s sad that most of the headteachers hire goons when land grabbers come for our schools. For how long will we continue to suffer? We want serious action taken,” he said.
NMS is also planning to allow schools to use private security guards which was withdrawn in 2020. Since then, the schools have been left unguarded making it easier for other people to repossess the land.
Nairobi‘s education County Executive Committee (CEC) member Janet Ouko promised to continue supporting needy students through additional bursary allocation while the NMS ensures students have a place to learn without continuous disruptions.
