The government has cautioned Kenyans of illegal land searches being conducted on the eCitizen portal despite the Ministry of Lands not offering the service on the platform.
In a notice published in the local dailies, the Farida Karoney Ministry warned Kenyans to be cautious of scammers who were using illegal searches to carry out land transactions.
The Ministry stated that it stopped offering land searches on the eCitizen platform in 2021.
Further, it stated that legit land searches were only done through Ardhisasa platform that was launched by President Uhuru Kenyatta last year.
"We have noted with great concern that there are illegal land searches purporting to emanate from the e-Citizen platform in circulation. Kindly note that Ardhisasa searches are issued in accordance with form LRA 85 as per regulation 86 of Land Registration (General) Regulations, 2017.
"The Ardhisasa digital platform enables citizens and investors to search and carry out various land transactions at the click of a button," read the Ministry's notice in part.
Additionally, the Ministry stated that members of the public could authenticate the land searches by verifying the details of the certificate.
"The search certificate clearly indicates that it has been issued from the Ardhisasa portal.
"Land-related services can be accessed through the Ardhisasa digital platform on ardhisasa(dot)lands(dot)go(dot)ke for Nairobi Land Registry," added the Ministry of Lands.
In 2021, the government moved to digitise land transactions with the aim of creating a seamless process for land transactions. The platform was first piloted in Nairobi before being rolled out to other counties.
The Head of State explained that the platform would get rid of cartels who were swindling Kenyans of their hard-earned money and land.
“The system will resolve the land problem as it will provide an updated, verified database of land records that are easily available.
“The system will ensure investors and those dealing with land are not confronted with warning signs such as 'Plot not for sale', 'danger' and 'Trespassers' will be prosecuted," Uhuru stated during the platform launch in 2021.
