Nairobi County is the devolved unit with the most unresolved land disputes, a new report published by the National Crime Research Centre has shown.
According to the report, the capital leads the way with a 12% rate followed by Kakamega at 6.3% and Nakuru at 5%.
Meru(5.3%), Kisii(5.2%), Bungoma(5.1%), Kilifi(4.6%), Kisumu(4.5), Kiambu(4.1), and Siaya(3.9%) completed the set of the top 10 counties struggling with land dispute cases.
Per the report, the most prevalent land dispute issues in various counties include; pending land transfers, land succession, ownership disputes, forged documents, lost title deeds, compensation claims, and boundary interference.
In Nairobi County, 44.4% of respondents expressed concerns about the issuance of title deeds, while 28.9% cited pending land ownership while 22.2% mentioned unresolved land matters in court.
Elsewhere in Kakamega County, 48.9% of respondents were troubled by pending land succession, 31.1% by pending land transfers, and 17.8% by unresolved matters in court or before elders.
Nakuru County faced significant challenges with 59.0% of respondents reporting grappling with pending land ownership disputes, followed by 30.8% dealing with pending transfers, and 33.3% contending with matters either in court or before the Council of Elders.
In the study, several counties stood out for their high rates of succession issues.
Vihiga recorded the highest percentage at 81.2%, followed by Nyamira at 70.6%, Busia at 63.2%, Nandi at 60.0%, and Laikipia at 36.8%.
Conversely, Lamu County presented a different scenario, where only three significant land issues were reported by respondents.
These issues included pending land transfers, pending land succession, and pending land ownership disputes.
Uasin Gishu County and Lamu County demonstrated notably low levels of unresolved disputes, with Uasin Gishu recording the lowest at 0.1%.
Taita Taveta followed closely with 0.4% of unresolved cases, indicating a more efficient resolution process in these areas.
