Samburu community gets back 2,700ha land
Ministry of Lands headquarters at Ardhi House in Nairobi in mid March 2015.
The National Land Commission (NLC) has started the process of handing back a 2,764-hectare parcel of land to the Samburu community, a move that could end a 35-year dispute.
The land, which is known as Samburu/Lodokejek/15 and previously registered as Kelele Holding Ground under the defunct Samburu County Council, has been at the centre of a protracted battle since the 1980s.
The breakthrough follows an NLC advisory to the Ministry of Lands, formally recommending the reservation of the land for the settlement of the Samburu pastoralist community.
Records show that the county council had resolved to return the land to the community as far back as January 1983.
In 1995, the council formally requested the Commissioner of Lands to demarcate and sub-divide the land, and the request was accepted the same year. However, these plans never materialised on the ground.
“Upon planning and survey, land in settlement schemes shall be allocated to households in accordance with national values and principles of governance,” reads the NLC letter to the Samburu County government.
NLCs recent validation exercise confirmed that the land, though officially reserved for a livestock marketing holding ground, is already being used by the community for residential, agricultural, and educational purposes.
At the same time, NLC found that formally settling the community through land planning and surveying could address the perennial insecurity in the area.
As the government begins process of reverting the land to locals, it is also planning to acquire 2,185 acres of land in Losesia in Samburu East for the establishment of a security camp and training facility.
While specific details regarding the process of acquisition and timeline of the project have not been disclosed, government officials invited interested parties to visit the NLC offices over the matter.
