Environment Cabinet Secretary Soipan Tuya has announced that the government will revoke all title deeds for individuals who have parcels of land in gazetted forests.
In a statement dated Wednesday, April 3, the CS noted that the title deeds were illegal.
Further, she indicated that the government would also revoke the titles for organisations which have land in the forests.
However, the CS noted that there were genuine institutions that were involved in research in the forests adding that the title deeds will be converted to special licences.
"We shall revoke all land title deeds held by individuals and organizations in gazetted forests. They are expressly illegal.
"For deserving entities involved in noble activities including research in gazetted forests across the country, their titles shall be converted into special use licenses to be issued by the Kenya Forest Service (KFS)," she announced.
However, she did not detail the exact date when the revocations will be made.
Notably, she will also have to involve her counterpart Alice Wahome who is in charge of the Lands docket.
The CS made the pronouncements while visiting the Ololua Forest in Kajiado County which has been marred with reports of land grabbing.
She maintained that the government would not be lenient in dealing with individuals who grab forest land, expressing the importance of conserving the environment.
The visit by the CS came days after KFS issued a statement allaying fears that private developers had grabbed land belonging to the forest which is also a tourist destination for nature works.
According to KFS, the land in question is held by four government institutions.
