Lands CS Addresses Double Registration of Land Titles

A signpost indicating that the parcel of land is for sale.
A signpost indicating that the parcel of land is for sale.
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Realtor.com

Lands Cabinet Secretary Zachariah Njeru on Wednesday, April 26 affirmed the Ministry's commitment to resolving loopholes that allow the sale of a single parcel of land to multiple buyers.

Appearing before the Senate, CS Njeru responded to a query by Nominated Senator Esther Okenyuri stating that the matter would be resolved through the Ardhi Sasa platform.

Okenyuri told the Lands boss that several Kenyans had lost their money after being duped into buying already-sold land.

Njeru
Lands CS Zachariah Njeru appearing before the Senate on Wednesday, April 26, 2023.
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Senate of Kenya

"I assure this House that that problem will be sorted out once we are fully digitised. As a Ministry, we have started this process with Nairobi County registries and soon we will be rolling out the same program to other counties," the CS explained.

The Senators notified Njeru that the land issue also affected the state citing instances of individuals grabbing government land.

The senators had tasked to explain what measures were put in place to stop the trend to which he answered, "The Government is in the process of securing all public lands in the country. We have started this process with the learning institutions."

"As a Ministry, we are working hard to make sure all public land is secured through a national titling program," the Lands boss added.

The CS also addressed concerns over delays in the compensation of Kenyans whose land was taken to pave the way for state projects.

He explained that the state was preparing a national land value index that would guide the compensation process without undervaluing or overvaluing the land.

Njeru reiterated that the compensation was under the National Land Commission (NLC) but assured that all those affected would be duly paid.

When questioned on the government's influence on NLC, he noted that the Commission was an independent institution and that despite working with the ministry, it conducted operations on its own.

Interior CS Kithure Kindiki appearing before the Senate on Wednesday, April 26, 2023.
Interior CS Kithure Kindiki appearing before the Senate on Wednesday, April 26, 2023.
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The Senate of Kenya