I was highly involved in drafting the land aspect of the 2010 Constitution.
There was tension when discussing the land policy and constitutional legislation.
There were those of us who advocated for the sanctity of the title deed as the corner stone of bringing sanity in land administration, and those who thought the solution lay in allowing land to be dealt with the Zimbabwe way. Fortunately, sense prevailed and we ended up with relatively balanced land sections of the Constitution and subsequent legislation to address all land-related troubles.
There are obviously some concerns about the integrity of the commission.
The question of public confidence is a reality, but I hope due process will be followed in looking at NLC’s modus operandi to hold those culpable to account.
There is a general feeling that the commission overstepped its mandate in many regards. In some instances, NLC and its commissioners acted outside the law. This and many other actions is what has gotten the commission here. Though many had
hopes that the commission would end public land abuse and address other underlying problems, NLC primarily dwelt on issues not within its mandate. When we were drafting the Constitution, it was very clear that the role of the NLC was limited to public land.
The commission was to play an advisory role to government on land matters. Unfortunately, it overstepped that mandate and found itself in this hot water. I am afraid this is a misfortune of NLC’s own making because if it stuck to its mandate, these problems would not have been witnessed and the commission would have achieved a lot. I am uncertain if NLC has achieved anything to meet the public
aspirations, although I am not best placed to comment because I haven’t been involved in land issues for sometime.
There has been no official review of the commission’s work, as well. This overstepping could have been due to confusion, vacuum and squabbles between NLC and the Lands ministry. The tussles between NLC and the ministry gave room for other players to take advantage of the situation and mess up. This derailed the commission from its constitutional mandate. Other than the turf wars between the commission and the ministry, governance problems have also contributed a lot to the current situation NLC finds itself in today.
Going forward, let Solomonic wisdom be applied to address all the challenges the commission faces. The NLC should stick to its mandate.
The commissioners should be guided by the public officers’ calling and commitment of selflessness and commitment to serve.
Foot is a former chair Kenya Land Owners Association.