LAND REFORMS IN KENYA: AN INSTITUTION OF SURVEYORS
OF KENYA (ISK) INITIATIVE
Humphrey K NJUGUNA and Martin M BAYA, Kenya
Key words:
Abstract
Land is, in most forms of society, the most important of natural
resources required for the creation of wealth. As a direct result,
control of the land brings economic power, which in turn, is often the
basis of social and political power. The centrality of land in human
life made it the main reason for the struggle for Kenya's independence
from British colonial rule. Land has been, and will continue to be the
mainstay of Kenya's economy, where over 80% of its population derives
its livelihood from agriculture. This resource has continued to play a
significant role in the socio-economic and political development of
the country. Therefore, its ownership, allocation, distribution and
utilization is of great concern to most Kenyans.
The present legal and institutional framework of land tenure, land
use, and the system of acquisition and disposition of land rights
which have been in place since the colonial times has brought about
tension, strife and litigation in land matters. The structural
framework and principles for the management and administration of land
inherited from the colonial times and developed over the three decades
since independence has largely failed to instill confidence in the
land market. Some of the problems within the land sector in Kenya may
be attributed to its colonial history, a proliferation of statutes
governing ownership and use of land (some of which are conflicting),
broad socio-economic patterns and demographic trends that have exerted
pressure on usable land. Other issues that have taken centre stage in
the land debate in Kenya include the optimal economic use of land,
rural and urban development, squatting, the quality and security of
tenure and the protection of the environment.
This paper is essentially a summary of the issues raised in the
booklet - "Land Reforms in Kenya: The Institution of Surveyors
of Kenya Perspective", which is the result of extensive
consultation and deliberations by a committee of ISK Council on broad
land reforms in Kenya. It gives the position of the Institution on the
Terms of Reference (ToRs) given to the Presidential Commission of
Inquiry into the Land Law System of Kenya that was commissioned on
17th. November 1999. The Commission was to, among other things,
undertake a broad review of land issues in Kenya and to recommend the
main principles of a land policy framework which would foster an
economically efficient, socially equitable and environmentally
sustainable land tenure and land use system. The booklet and this
paper gives proposals on the main tenets of a national land policy,
and a reform of the entire land delivery system in Kenya, such as
survey, registration and the preparation of official records relevant
to such survey and registration. It also makes proposals on land
distribution and redistribution, inheritance of land and access of
land to women.
It is recognized from the outset that the (booklet) paper does not
give a conclusive treatise on land reforms, - there are many more
players (professional and civil society) within the land sector - but
the issues raised will stimulate an informed discourse in Kenya on the
all important land issue.
CONTACT
Humphrey K Njuguna
Chairman of the Institution of Surveyors of Kenya ISK
Third Floor, Alibhai Shariff Building
P.O. Box 40707
Nairobi
KENYA
Fax + 254 2 214 770
Tel: + 254 2 313 490
E-mail: isk@iconnect.co.ke
Martin M Baya
Honorary Secretary of the Institution of Surveyors of Kenya ISK
Geodetic Systems
P.O. Box 69677
Nairobi
KENYA
Tel. + 254 2 714 722
Fax + 254 2 729 506
E-mail: geodetic@iconnect.co.ke
23 March 2001
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