The government will spend Sh25 billion to compensate families whose land and properties fall along the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) line in seven counties.
Kenya Railways Corporation is in the process of acquiring private properties along the Naivasha-Kisumu line, whose construction has started.
This comes as residents of Nyamira, Bomet and Kericho counties protest the takeover of their land by Kenya Railways Corporation before sales are completed and payments made.
As a result, the National Land Commission (NLC) is conducting public participation meetings in the region to sensitise landowners on the requirements and help them obtain ownership documents to facilitate the anticipated sale and transfer of their properties.
The stretch under construction was launched by President William Ruto on March 19, 2026, and is projected to be completed within two years.
“The counties that the line will cover are, and which the properties will be acquired by the government are - Nakuru, Narok, Bomet, Kericho, Nyamira, Homa Bay and Kisumu,” Kenya Railways Corporation Managing Director Paul Mainga said.
The Kisumu-Malaba railway line will be covered in the third phase of construction as the government seeks to ease transport and open up western Kenya, connecting the region to Nairobi and Mombasa.
The railway line is also intended to connect Kenya with other East African Community (EAC) member states, particularly Uganda, in a move expected to speed up the transportation of goods and passengers between the two countries.
President William Ruto launches the landmark construction of the Naivasha-Kisumu-Malaba Standard Gauge Railway line in Narok on Thursday, March 19, 2026.
Photo credit: PCS
South Sudan, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are also expected to benefit from the railway extension.
Mr Mainga said the National Land Commission had granted the corporation early access to some properties to facilitate the start of construction.
“The government has set aside Sh25 billion to compensate people whose land will be taken over for the construction of the Narok-Bomet-Kericho, Nyamira, Homa Bay-Kisumu (2B) railway line,” Mr Mainga said at a public participation meeting in the Kipsegon area of Chepalungu, Bomet County.
Mr Mainga said that in Narok County, where construction has started, the SGR line would cover 98 kilometres.
“The project is being developed as a n SGR Economic Belt, with logistics hub and agricultural value addition facilities planned along the targeted corridor as part of the government’s Bottom Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) with the project expected to create jobs and support small businesses.”
Upon completion and commissioning of the new line, the transportation of tea, sugar, coffee, maize and fish from the South Rift Valley, Nyanza and western Kenya, particularly to Nairobi and the Port of Mombasa for export, is expected to become easier and faster.
“Kisumu will have a logistics hub for fish, supporting storage, and the movement of the stock mass markets outside the region,” Mr Mainga said.
He said the focus in Narok would be on tourism, livestock and agriculture, while Bomet would have a logistics hub with a special focus on tea.
Kenya's President William Ruto and Song Hailiang, the chairman of China Communications Construction Company Limited, attend the launch of the extension of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) from Naivasha to Kisumu and the Uganda border, in Narok Kenya, March 19, 2026.
Photo credit: Reuters
One of the biggest challenges facing landowners is the lack of ownership documents. Some properties remain registered in the names of deceased people whose succession cases are pending in court or have yet to be initiated.
“Most of the land owners bought the properties from third parties with only land sale agreements relied on for ownership,” former Bomet Mayor Leonard Kipkemoi Barsumei said.
Mr Barsumei said the government needed to help affected families obtain title deeds and subdivide their land to enable those whose properties would be traversed by the railway to sell and transfer them.
Some residents have reportedly become embroiled in ownership disputes after buying land from people who are now refusing to transfer the properties or are seeking to repossess them to benefit from the sale to Kenya Railways Corporation.
Residents of North Mugirango Constituency in Nyamira County are demanding compensation for their land as construction of the SGR project begins in the area.
Locals are concerned that contractors have already arrived and started work without compensating them for the land they occupy. Crops have reportedly been destroyed as surveyors mark the railway’s route.
“The workers of the contracted company are already here and most of them are foreigners. We are unable to communicate with them and we do not know where to direct our concerns to. We are asking President William Ruto to help us get land title deeds and compensation,” resident Isabela Kerubo said.
President William Ruto during the launch of the landmark construction of the Naivasha-Kisumu-Malaba Standard Gauge Railway line in Narok.
Photo credit: PCS
The residents, many of them elderly, are particularly anxious because they lack title deeds and are urging the government to help them obtain the documents promptly.
Residents of Bokeira Ward, particularly those in Nyakaranga, Kiamatonga, Enkarango and Riagwaro villages, are among the most affected.
Resident Grace Nyaboke said that during public consultations, they were promised that evaluation officers would assess their properties and arrange compensation.
However, with the arrival of foreign workers and police officers, villagers say they feel sidelined and fearful, with red flags placed in their fields without prior notification.
Similar concerns have been reported in Bomet East, Chepalungu and Sotik constituencies in Bomet County, and Bureti Constituency in Kericho County. Contractors have leased land to use as holding grounds for their equipment as surveyors mark the railway route and sites for stations.
Houses and other structures on the affected land will also be eligible for compensation after valuation, once ownership documents have been processed.
