Senators have opened an investigation into unexplained delays in processing of land title deeds in registries across the country following mounting complaints some have taken years.
The development comes against a backdrop of outrage by landowners and real estate players over the delays witnessed in the processing of the crucial documents.
According to the lawmakers, the delays have led to a surge in unscrupulous dealers who con Kenyans out of their hard-earned cash in the guise of helping them access the documents.
The Senate Land, Environment and Natural Resources committee has now commenced investigations into reasons for the delays in the processing of land titles at the land registries countrywide.
The committee chaired by Mombasa Senator Mohamed Faki wants to the Ministry of Lands to explain whether the delays are caused by a shortage of necessary documents required for the processing of certificates of titles or title deeds.
“We also want to know measures being implemented by the Ministry of Land, Public Works, Housing and Urban Development to resolve this issue, along with the timelines for restoring normal operations in land registries,” said nominated Senator Raphael Chimera.
Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei noted that the issue of processing of titles is still a big challenge in the country.
He highlighted an example of transferring the titles of leasehold to freehold that takes more than six months, a move that has remained unexplained even after the applicants have met all the procedures demanded.
The legislator pointed out that in Nandi County, the problem exists in Koiben, Chepkumia, Kapkangani, Kiptuia, Tinderet, Ngatipkong and Gapchoria.
“Where I come, respect for men comes from ownership of land, having a wife or wives and children for purposes of succession. You will only be respected, as an elder, if you have the above. You cannot sit in a meeting discussing serious community matters in my community if you do not have land and children,” said Senator Cherargei.
He called on the National Assembly to appropriate funds to the Ministry of Lands to ensure the unexplained delays in processing of the crucial documents are resolved once and for all.
“So, titling of land is a serious security issue and it can be used to secure the future of this nation,” he added.
The ministry has been plagued by a myriad of challenges including cases of land grabbing, double allocation and rampant graft.
Last year, the Ministry of Lands was rocked after some 307 security documents used to print title deeds were stolen from the Government Printer.
Lands Cabinet Secretary Alice Wahome maintained that the incident was the work of land grabbers who have been trying to get hold of correct papers because most of the time their land grabbing schemes don’t succeed because of the wrong title papers.
Just last month, a report by the Ombudsman exposed cases of stalling of land cases and processing of land titles at the Ministry of Lands.
The damning report revealed that the Ministry of Lands accounted for the second-highest number of complaints, representing seven percent of all complaints it received.
“Many citizens have reported long wait times for essential services such as the issuance of title deeds,” stated the report.
Since 2019, the Commission said it has received 392 complaints against the State Department for Lands and Physical Planning with only 186 resolved.
According to the Commission, the biggest challenge in the ministry is the issue of delay, where some cases involving title deeds and land transfers have been delayed for three to four years.
However, there are extreme cases where 119 cases dragged on for between four and 15 years; eight have been delayed for up to 25 years, while two have remained unresolved for over 25 years.
CS Wahome has repeatedly admitted the challenges in the sector but assured that the ministry is working diligently to address them.
She even pledged to have the ministry expedite the processes and issue at least 420,000 title deeds in the period between 2024 and 2025.
Last year, the Association of Real Estate Stakeholders called for thorough investigations to determine the cause of the delays in processing government documents, identification of specific bottlenecks, procedural deficiencies and corruption cases that may be contributing to these hitches.
The association said the delays continue to cause unnecessary quarrels with clients, calling for the State to allocate sufficient resources to government agencies responsible for processing documents to ensure that they have the necessary personnel, equipment and infrastructure to promptly meet demand.
