A Critical Analysis of the Report of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the Land Law System of Kenya: Sampled Reactions

The recently released report of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the Land Law System of Kenya has sparked varying reactions from Kenyans of all walks of life. While some complain that the Commission did not complete its task per all its terms of reference, the land gurus are thrilled by the fact that the report makes many far reaching recommendations on the principles of formulating a National Land Policy Framework and the Constitutional Framework for Land Administration and Management. While reminding everyone of the numerous steps involved in the development of a National Land Policy, Kenya Land Alliance (KLA) notes that the release of the ‘Njonjo Commission’ report marks the crucial second stage of the National Land policy development process which involves debating of the report.

Chapter Eleven of The Kenya Draft Constitution Bill at Close Scrutiny

It is significant that for the first time land is specifically recognized as a constitutional category in the Draft Constitution Bill. This is important because it gives the issue of land the level of visibility that is always associated with constitutional matters, and unlike other ordinary legislation, a Constitution can only be amended by a special majority. The chapter that deals with land in the Draft Constitution Bill is Chapter Eleven under the title Land and Property.

The Draft National Land Policy: A Step towards Land Reforms

Through this Land Update, KLA appreciates that for the first time in the history of Kenya a comprehensive Draft National Land Policy has been formulated.We therefore urge all Kenyans and the general public to read, debate and contribute to the finalization of the National Land Policy. This is because the final National Land Policy will provide the basis for the review and harmonization of the existing laws and enacting of new ones to facilitate the achievement of the objectives set out in the overall national development policy framework, Kenya Vision 2030

Relevance of the World Social Forum to the Kenyan Situation

The World Social Forum in Nairobi in January 2007 was a timely New Year rallying event for Kenyans to revisit the fundamental principles for building a democratic and sustainable society as we prepare for December 2007 elections.The current organizing principles of the institutions that govern us in Kenya are narrow and serve the few at the expense of the many millions of Kenyans that live in abject poverty. Yet, from all corners of the country it is acknowledged that it is within our collective ability to create a healthy and sustainable society that serves and work for all

Land Mali Umma

For a long time the issue of land and related problems has been debated mostly by academicians, politicians and professionals. Although the problem has remained more or less one of the most talked of in Kenya, the public has very often been left out of the debate. Again mostly the debate has been dominated more by complaining about either the lack of policy or the bad land policies and laws and the failure by successive governments to correct those problems. It is not very common that you find people coming up with concrete suggestions on what needs to be put into place to replace existing laws and or policies

Land, Environment and Natural Resources Submission to the Constitution of Kenya Review Commission From Kenya Land Alliance

The Kenya Land Alliance (KLA) is a focal point for information sharing and networking among those pressing for land reform in Kenya. It was formed in 1999 by members of civil society to propose reforms both to the Commission on the Review of Land Laws, appointed by the President, and the Constitution of Kenya Review Commission, appointed by Parliament. Over the last two years, the KLA has coordinated a programme of research on land issues in Kenya by member organisations

The National Land Policy in Kenya Critical Public Land Issues and Policy Statements

The National Land Policy in Kenya: Critical Public Land Issues and Policy Statements is a guide to steer the debate and eventual formulation of a National Land Policy and legislative framework that will address issues of management and administration of public land in Kenya. The Issues Paper aims to fill-in the gaps in the debate of handling public land management and administration for the good of the present and future generations and provides the general citizenry and specifically stakeholders in the National Land Policy Formulation process with a checklist of areas of concern about public land that need to be addressed

The National Land Policy in Kenya Addressing Historical Injustices

The Historical Injustices Issues Paper seeks to present the various historical land claims issues and perspective related to them and consequently proffer policy statements for their redress. In this Issues Paper, Kenya Land Alliance (KLA) has tried to integrate information, issues and perspectives in relation to what was presented to the Constitution of Kenya Review Commission (CKRC), the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the Land Law System of Kenya and at the Civil Society National Conference on Land Reform together with the ongoing debate on historical injustices

Institutional Framework for Land Administration and Management in Kenya

Institutional framework for land administration and management being a whole set of services that make the land tenure system within Kenya socially, ecologically and economically relevant and operational has generally failed to operationalise the general functional components of land administration i.e. juridical, regulatory, fiscal, cadastral and adjudicative, efficiently. This is because land administration structures and infrastructures are perceived as factors external to the land tenure system itself.

Righting The Wrongs: Historical Injustices and Land Reforms in Kenya

For historical reasons, Kenya inherited a highly skewed system of land ownership at independence in 1963. British colonialism in Kenya was not merely administrative. Rather, it was accompanied by massive and widespread land alienation for the benefit of settler agriculture. As a result the best agricultural land-the White Highlands and the adjacent rangelands were taken from the Africans, without compensation, and parceled out to white settlers. Colonial legislation was enacted to legalize this process. As a result, whole communities lost valuable land that they had occupied over generations.

THE RURAL WOMEN’S LAND RIGHTS CHARTER: TOWARDS ACHIEVING WOMEN’S LAND RIGHTS

The Rural Women’s Land Rights Charter of Kenya is a bold expression of the concerns/ issues and their aspirations of women living in rural areas on land matters. At the core of these aspirations is the  realization of secure and protected women’s land rights and security for their land-based livelihoods. Women from rural areas in 24 counties in Kenya highlighted their issues and expressed the kind of change they would like to see on matters land through the Rural Women’s Land Rights Charter. Rural women in a breakfast launch in Nairobi proclaimed this charter on October 13th 2016. During this launch, the Cabinet Secretary in charge of the Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning and the Chair person of the National Land Commission committed their institutions to fully implement the demands. The Rural Women’s Land Rights Charter of Kenya is a bold expression of the concerns/ issues and their aspirations of women living in rural areas on land matters. At the core of these aspirations is the realization of secure and protected women’s land rights and security for their land-based livelihoods. Women from rural areas in 24 counties in Kenya highlighted their issues and expressed the kind of change they would like to see on matters land through the Rural Women’s Land Rights Charter. Rural women in a breakfast launch in Nairobi proclaimed this charter on October 13th 2016. During this launch, the Cabinet Secretary in charge of the Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning and the

Gender Aspects of Land Reform Constitutional Principles

Throughout this pocket size booklet, Land Reform Volume 4, KLA proposes that collectively as a nation, and especially during this time of the constitutional review process. The principles outlined be embraced with the purpose of providing women a deliberate opportunity to engage in decision-making as regards land-use,management and ownership.

The National Land Policy in Kenya Critical Gender Issues and Policy Statements

The purpose of this Issues Paper is to move the debate and stimulate discussion of issues relevant to women’s land rights and social security beyond the unfulfilled demands for gender responsive land policies and land legal framework. It is based on lessons learned from various research findings, Kenya Land Alliance experience and discussions with colleagues with whom we work with in various capacities on land policy and law reforms in Kenya and others parts of Africa.

Kenya Land Issuance Disaggregated Data Analysis

This booklet reveals that women only got 103,043 titles representing 10.3 percent, while men got 865,095 titles representing 86.5 percent of the total. The glaring disparity is made clear when looked at against the actual land sizes and titled for women against men. The data sample shows that out of 10,129,704 hectares of land titled between 2013 and 2017 women got 163,253 hectares representing a paltry 1.62 while men got 9,903,304 hectares representing 97.76 percent.

Strengthening Women’s Voices in the Context of Agriclutural Investments: Lessons From Kenya

This report, which focuses on Kenya, constitutes one of four country-wide assessments produced under the overall project. It draws on a literature review conducted by the Kenya Land Alliance (KLA) with additional inputs from IIED, as well as on primary field research conducted by KLA in April 2016 (see Section 1.2 for further information about the research methodology). The primary aim of this report is to inform practitioners, policy makers and researchers about key governance issues relevant to the strengthening of women’s empowerment in community land stewardship and accountability in agricultural investments in Kenya.

Land & Property Rights

The women Land Rights Project is a project of Kenya Land Alliance that aims at actualisation Women land and property rights, as provided in the Constitution of Kenya, 2013 and as a means towards poverty alleviation. This considering the fact that, in Kenya where the foundation of most communities is Agriculture and livestock production, women contribute up to 80% of workforce yet they only hold 1% of registered land in their names and around 5-6% of registered titles are held in joint names (Kenya Land Alliance, 2013).

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF RURAL WOMEN 15TH OCTOBER 2018 PROGRESS IN ADDRESSING WOMEN LAND RIGHTS – RETRACING THE JOURNEY

THEME: “Sustainable infrastructure, services and social protection for gender
equality and the empowerment of rural women and girls”

Time is now to transform rural women’s lives. Rural women make up the majority of Kenya’s agricultural labour force. They ensure food security for their communities and build climate resilience in this time of the challenges of climate change. But their crucial role they play in ensuring the sustainability of rural households and communities, improving rural livelihoods and overall wellbeing, forces us to ask the basic questions flagged by Professor Henry Bernstein in his book on Class Dynamics of Agrarian change, 2010 of: who owns what?, who does what?, who get what?, and what do they do with? As we commemorate 10 years since the first International Day of Rural Women was established on 15th October 2008. We need to ask these right questions in recognition of the substantial proportion of the women’s agricultural labour force, including informal work, and performance of the bulk of unpaid care and domestic work within families and households in rural areas. Women make significant contributions to agricultural production, food security and nutrition, land and natural resource management, yet structural barriers and discriminatory social norms continue to constrain women’s decision-making power and
political participation in rural households and communities. This year marks the second anniversary of the Women to Kilimanjaro Initiative. This initiative culminated in the launch of the Rural Women’s Land Rights charter for Kenya and the Africa wide charter on rural women land rights. It is therefore an appropriate moment to take stock of the progress made so far and what lies ahead.

Land Sector Non State Actors-(LSNASA) Press-Petition

The Land Sector Non State Actors (LSNSA) is a network of civil society organizations working together to promote secure and equitable access to land and natural resource for all through advocacy, dialogue and capacity building. We petition parliament on issues we hold to be of fundamental importance in the context and content of the two bills before the National Assembly.

Land-Laws-Amendment-Bill-2015

The first set of the land laws were enacted in 2012 in line with the timelines outlined in the Constitution of Kenya 2010. In keeping with the spirit of the constitution, the Land Act, Land Registration Act and the national Land Commission Act respond to the requirements of Articles 60, 61, 62, 67 & 68 of the Constitution.