Nairobi Women Representative Esther Muthoni Passaris has pointed out that banks don’t give loans on title deeds because they are not assured of it.
Speaking today during the National Assembly proceedings regarding the demolition of houses in Athi River, Passaris said land demolitions on people who have title deeds have made banks insecure about their loans.
This is because despite having a title deed, a court order to a party to demolish and possess the piece of land makes banks not trust the title deeds, knowing that the land ownership status might change over time.
‘Today, banks don’t give you loans on your title deed because they don’t trust your title deed,” Passaris said.
With regard to the Mavoko demolitions, Passaris said behind every home that was demolished, there's a story of struggle.
She emphasised that the government “must adopt a multi-sectoral approach to find humane solutions that prioritize fairness, while still upholding the law.”
“As a country, we failed not just the people of Mavoko but there are so many historical injustices in this country where houses have been demolished and we have never been able to find a solution. This is where we have failed and we continue to fail,” Passaris said.
“We can blame each other saying it is this one or the other but at the end of the day, we are all Kenyans. We fought for independence, got rid of the colonizers and took possession of our land."
She went on: "We didn't take possession of our land for certain people, we didn't take possession of our land to frustrate people, to harm or to injure people or to economically destroy people."
Passaris said that what happened in Mavoko was a miscarriage of justice.
She highlighted that decisions on land ownership that involve the community must be made in the field and people residing in such areas be considered.
“We need to stop making decisions in the courtroom when it comes to emotive matters like land which involves a huge community and actually take the courts to the grassroots,” she said.
“Take the courts and have an open court. Nothing stops them from going into the grassroots and actually see what is happening because some of these decisions when they are making in the court, they make decisions that will affect a number of households.”
On matters of land that involve the community, the Nairobi Women Representative said the judiciary must initiate “alternative disputes resolution and actually bring in the ministry of lands, the police, the community and the judiciary and together we look at how we can safeguard the dignity of the people that we are sup[posed to represent.”
“The people in Mavoko, I understand where they are coming from when they say this was our land. This land was sold to innocent Kenyans, the county government gave approvals for the construction of houses.
"The services were provided by Kenya Power, by the Ministry of Water, titles were provided by the Ministry of Lands and all of sudden you wake up and say this land belongs to us. With all these 4,000 acres, couldn't they find a way to compensate them?” she stated.
Passaris emphasised that “Kenyans need to be engaged in a manner that is dignified.”
