• Owners urged to collect title deeds, settle succession disputes out of court.
• Wives urged to be enjoined on their title deeds as allowed by law, so their husbands don't sell the land, leaving them squatters.
Image: JESSICAH NYABOKE
The Ministry of Lands will issue 6,000 free title deeds to land owners in Uasin Gishu by the end of this week, Lands CS Farida Karoney has said.
The CS said they were rushing against time to ensure more than one million title deeds in land registries countrywide are issued to owners by the end of July.
President Uhuru Kenyatta ordered they be issued swiftly.
Speaking at Burnt Forest while issuance title deeds in Uasin Gishu on Thursday, Karoney called on landowners to take advantage of the one-month fee moratorium to collect their titles.
“The reason we have so many title deeds uncollected in our land registries is that land owners say they don’t have the money to pay for them.
"But the President has directed they be issued free until the end of July,” she said.
“You only have one month to get the titles free of charge," the CS said. "Please take advantage by collecting the documents from land officers. National government administrative officers will come to your localities to issue the titles."
Karoney and Uasin Gishu county commissioner Stephen Kihara asked owners to protect their title deeds.
“Our concern is that once we issue the title deeds, some men will sale their land at the expense of their families. Some will even sell them at their drinking joints.
"In the end, their families will be left landless and reduced to squatters, which will leave the families in turmoil,” Karoney said.
The land is not expanding but the population is increasing and the demand for land will continue to increase.
"If we dispose of what we have, we shall become squatters and this is not what the government wants," the CS said.
She advised married women to be focused and ensure their husbands don’t sell family land without their consent. The law now allows married women to be enjoined in their husbands' title deeds, she said.
“The only thing you need is to walk into the lands registrar’s office and ask to be enjoined in your husband’s title deed. This is one way to ensure title deeds are protected for the future of your children.
The CS also asked families whose land title holders have died to file for succession. She said the Lands ministry has had trouble issuing title deeds because many families have yet to handle succession after the death of the original owner.
“We will not issue you with the title deed of deceased family members until the succession is done and completed,” she said.
County commissioner Kihara advised those with title issues to settle them out of court.
“Land disputes taken to court take ages to be completed," he said. "It is advisable for former land buying companies and settlement schemes who have have land disputes with their members to settle them out of court."
Karoney asked residents to maintain peace before, during and after the August 9 general election.
“On August 10, after the election, we shall remain Kenyans, nobody is leaving Kenya, so there is no need for people to fight or insult each other because of elections," she said.
"Your vote is your secret, and being a democratic country, you have a constitutional duty to go to the polling station on August 9 to cast your vote secretly to whomever you choose and go home to continue with your chores,” the CS advised.
Among those to benefit from the title deeds are members of Nyakinyua-Jogoo who said they have waited for the land documents for many years. They said the majority of the original members have died.
Other schemes issued with the title deeds on Wednesday are Mvita, Kaptagat, Kondoo, Bindura, Kahungura, Kuinet B, Sugutek, and Baharini.
(Edited by V. Graham)