Lamu Governor Issa Timamy on Tuesday, March 14, vowed to take stringent measures in efforts aimed at resolving the perennial land disputes that rock the county.
Speaking during a meeting with Lands Cabinet Secretary Zachariah Mwangi Njeru, the Governor announced that the county was looking into adopting the use of satellites to enhance surveillance against land encroachers in the county.
Timamy raised concerns over the rampant rate of encroachment mostly by outsiders whom he claimed take advantage of the existing gap in the land registry to illegally acquire land in the area.
He noted that he was privy to instances where outsiders flock to the county, some using private helicopters, whenever a title deed issuing exercise is announced.
“We have the technology and we will use it to take photos to mark the boundaries because you leave an idle land at one moment only to find children playing there after a short time. If you announce that you are planning to issue title deeds, people usually board helicopters to come to seek land," he stated.
"It is only in Lamu where people would storm a private land and demand a title," Timamy noted while addressing the meeting.
According to Timamy, the responsibility of resolving land crises falls under the purview of county governments and as such, he was willing to lead in instituting long-lasting solutions in his position.
In addition, the Lamu County Chief called for collaboration between the Ministry of Lands and the Ministry of Agriculture in curtailing the encroachment trend.
He claimed that he was privy to cases where opportunists paid bribes to chiefs and local administrators in collusion to occupy land in the county.
"If we are sincere and we want to solve this problem once and for all. Nobody should come from outside to claim land," Timamy noted.
CS Njeru was on one of his recent tours to the Coast in his proclaimed mission to institute reforms in the sector. Since his appointment, the CS has underscored his commitment to ensuring that all land registry records go digital.
