Council of elders, widely referred to as village elders, are providing superior services to Kenyans compared to members of the National Police Service (NPS), a new survey has revealed.
The National Crime Research Center (NCRC), in its Baseline Study on Land-Related Crimes and Offences in Kenya report released on Wednesday, showed that individuals undergoing a land injustice preferred reporting the issue to a council of elder member as opposed to a police station.
Out of the respondents who participated in the survey, 622 individuals noted that village elders' services were effective with only 228 indicating that their services were not effective.
In comparison, only 250 individuals confirmed that seeking solutions over land injustices in a police station was effective compared to 576 who were displeased by the service offered.
"The study further sought to find out the effectiveness of each duty bearer institution in tackling land-related matters in their respective jurisdictions," read the report in part.
"The most effective institutions as considered by the majority of the respondents were the council of elders (65.8%), the family (56.4%), National Government Administrative Offices (51.2%) the judiciary (39.9%), the church (29.9%), State Department for Lands (29.7%), the National Police Service (25.2%), National Lands Commission (24.2%) and Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (20.4%)."
The report further indicated that a majority of Kenyans prefer reporting land cases to relevant offices such as police, church and clan elders,
Some, however, would rather hold a dialogue between the aggrieved parties, filing cases in court for arbitration or holding barazas.
"Public officials indicated that they encourage out-of-court settlement of land matters (ADR) during Public barazas and Peace committee meetings," added the statement.
"The National Government Administrative Officers (NGAO) officials emphasized that they undertake close and continuous monitoring of land matters in their respective areas of jurisdictions."
Land cases have been a thorny issue across the country dating back to independence.
In relation to the perpetrators of land-related crimes, the report established the most leading as land brokers/cartels (41.4%), conceited family members (39.7%), and neighbors (35.1%).
The most prominent causes of land-related crimes highlighted in the report were greed by some land owners (47.4%), the depravity of mankind (42.5%), and land grabbing (33.3%).
