Karen land saga a stark reminder of dark past

Once again Kenyans are being treated to scenes of accusations and counter-accusations regarding corruption that have predictably taken a political twist. On one side is the Coalition for Restoration for Democracy (CORD) and on another side are politicians and Members of Parliament from the Jubilee-led government.

But before Kenyans allow themselves to once again get lost in the politics that often overshadows claims of big corruption (Anglo Leasing, Standard Gauge Railway, Lamu) we need to pause and reflect on what the latest scandal says about our respect for the rule of law. Two questions come to mind. One is the sanctity of legal documents like the title deed. Are such documents safe from corrupt politicians and businessmen?

This is not the first time that court orders are being selectively followed since the new constitution was promulgated four years ago. It sets a dangerous precedent in the country. The Constitution not only spells out the country's bill of rights and laws of the land, it is also supposed to be the arbiter that ensures that the powerful do not ride roughshod over the weak.

The fact that a select group of individuals can take it upon themselves to violate the country's sacred laws because of their insatiable greed should worry all of us. This does not exclude government because it is in place by virtue of the same law. The new allegations of high level corruption and impunity in government should prod the executive, the legislature and the judiciary to smoke out the individuals who are hell-bent on subverting our governance system.

If such impunity is allowed, a dangerous precedent will be set and this is risky as it has the potential reverse the gains that the country has made in cleaning its institutions over the last 15 years. The Karen land circus unfortunately reminds us there is a time when impunity ruled our land. That there is a time powerful and connected people could grab property and get away with it. This should not be allowed to happen again.

Read more at: https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2000138923/karen-land-saga-a-stark-reminder-of-dark-past

Survey unearths most corrupt land registries in Kenya

A new survey of land registries has ranked Isiolo, Naivasha and Thika as the most corrupt while Bomet, Eldoret and Kitale were ranked as the least. The survey released yesterday by the Land Development and Governance Institute (LDGI) ranked the registry at the Ministry of Lands headquarters in Ardhi House in 12th position out of the 40 registries surveyed. More than half (52 per cent) of Kenyans surveyed said that corruption is still high at land registries while 48 per cent said it was low.

In terms of timeliness in handling land transactions, registries in Wote, Eldoret and Kwale were ranked the best while Migori, Kakamega and Thika emerged the worst. Ardhi House emerged seventh and was ranked in the 'fair' category. Regarding ease of accessing information, Wote, Kerugoya and Bomet emerged the top while Bungoma, Kakamega and Kilifi were ranked the worst. Ardhi House was ranked 'fair' and came a distant number 15. The rankings are based on surveys of 1,024 Kenyans who frequently seek services at land registries across the country. It was conducted between August 25 and September 12. The survey had sought to gauge the state of service delivery in land registries and determine the status and impact of implementation of land reforms. It also revealed that majority of Kenyans (71 per cent) feel the recent re-organisation of land registries has not improved services significantly. Those seeking services in registries in Nairobi, Mombasa and Kwale reported little improvement while majority of those in Kwale reported no improvement.

ELIMINATE BROKERS

The re-organisation is being spearheaded by Lands Cabinet Secretary Charity Ngilu and Principal Secretary Mariam El-Maawy. At registries in Nairobi, 33 per cent said they have not felt any improvement while 25 per cent said the it was slight. In Mombasa, 47 per cent said they have not felt any improvement and in Kilifi, 80 per cent reported no improvement. However, those in Kwale Registry reported high improvement in services (55 per cent). LDGI Chairman Ibrahim Mwathane said Kenyans interviewed are demanding urgent computerisation of land records and elimination of brokers from all registries to ease transactions. "Timeliness of transactions has improved from last year but are still not satisfactory due to lack of computerised records and intentional delays by ministry officials," he said. He called for a transparent process of the computerisation of records from tendering to execution.

Source; http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2000138262/survey-unearths-most-corrupt-land-registries-in-kenya