National government in collaboration with Nakuru county government is set to issue title deeds to more than 1,500 residents of Rongai Sub-County in a bid to end perennial land disputes within the devolved unit.
The County Executive Committee Member for Lands, Physical Planning, Housing and Urban Development John Kihagi said there was need for landowners within Ruiyobei Farm within Solai Ward to get their land ownership documents after a- 41-year wait.
The CECM said the decision by both levels of government was a positive move and a step forward in economic elevation of Nakuru County and in the appreciation of the land value in the region.
He further said the Ministry of Lands and the County administration were working to have the land adjudication exercise completed in time.
“This move is meant to enable the local communities to address land disputes and access title deeds which has been elusive for the past 41 years,” he observed.
The CECM urged the residents to use the title deeds to empower themselves economically, adding that the document will now lead to appreciation of land in the region, which will further boost economic growth in the area.
Speaking when he presided over a ceremony to issue the approved physical development plan for the settlement to Directors and members of Solai Ruiyobei Farm, Kihagi affirmed that the national and county governments were speeding up land adjudication in Nakuru County to help empower the communities economically and boost economic development of the region.
The event was graced by Rongai Member of Parliament Paul Chebor, Solai Ward Member of County Assembly Mr Nixon Morogo, County Chief Officer in charge of Lands Kennedy Mugo, Chief Officer in the Office of the Governor Martin Kagai and political adviser to the Governor Jane Simita.
Kihagi urged the beneficiaries to secure public utilities within the farm and co-exist peacefully, adding that both levels of government were committed to developing key social infrastructure including schools, vocational training colleges and hospitals to support livelihoods in the area.
The CECM challenged the locals to utilize their huge chunks of land wisely by planting crops like sunflower, pyrethrum, potatoes, maize, beans and peas that do well in the area.
“When you produce enough food for the family and sell the rest to earn an income, you will not have time to be incited to war by selfish politicians who thrive in crisis,” the CECM advised.
He also called on the locals to utilize their lands in building commercial structures or use their land for farming to earn a decent livelihood.
Kihagi observed that there were many petitions from residents whose continued stay on their respective parcels without the documents left them uncertain adding that among the petitions were those from the disputed Ndabibi Farm residents who acquired it through purchase or as a retirement gift from Agricultural Development Corporation (ADC) in the 1990s.
He said there was a growing concern over the lack of security of tenure from residents and said they were racing against time to unlock the backlog in title deeds issuance.
He indicated that due to many land cases pending in courts, the County government had trained mediators to help resolve the disputes and hasten the issuance of title deeds to residents.
Kihagi said most land cases could be solved through alternative dispute resolution mechanisms as opposed to filing court cases. This, he added, would ensure the ongoing titling programme benefits more residents.
Statistics from the courts in the region indicate that at least 50 percent of cases involve land disputes.
On his part, the Rongai MP asked residents to take advantage of the land ownership documents to develop their parcels. He further advised them not to sell land to outsiders as it could easily lead them to being landless and lead a poor life.
The title deed, Chebor observed, is an important document that residents could use to take loans in financial institutions and improve their living standards.
“This document should be used to make you rich, not to bring poverty in your homestead. If you sell all your land, your children will be left landless and poor,” he warned.
Chebor also challenged the residents to do productive business on the land to eliminate poverty in the society and said he was optimistic that the title deeds will help check land grabbing and end land disputes.
To ensure transparency and thoroughness, the MP said committees representing all villages in the ward should be formed to work alongside government officials in verifying land claims and protecting residents’ rights.
These efforts, he added, should include identifying and securing essential amenities, such as schools and markets, to benefit the entire community.
The MP indicated that the initiative, spearheaded by governor Susan Kihika’s administration in collaboration with the national government, is focused on expediting land settlement, while safeguarding essential public utilities within communities, noting that the families from the villages in the ward had suffered as they were unable to access financial loans to develop their land since the 1970s due to lack of collateral.
Nakuru hosts numerous settlement schemes established shortly after independence. Until the late 1990s, a majority of the beneficiaries only held allotment letters.
Prolonged disputes and lack of proper organizational structure have remained a major challenge for the residents’ clamor for the legal documents that have the potential of transforming lives.
A team of officials from the county’s Lands Department and the National Lands Commission (NLC) has been constituted to expedite the processing of the title deeds.
By Esther Mwangi
