County Government of Laikipia

Land sector agencies in Laikipia have closed ranks to launch a multisectoral onslaught on land-related fraud in one of the most coordinated attempts by the Government to streamline the chaotic land sector in recent times.

  

For many years, Laikipia County has been a free theatre for land fraudsters in all their various forms with victims being individuals, government, shareholders of land-buying companies, and Saccos.

  

Land-buying company officials have been transferring and even selling land initially set aside for public utility during the sub-division.

  

Enthusiastic entrepreneurs, saccos or real estate firms have been buying and sub-dividing agricultural land into small plots under what has come to be known as mburoti maguta mata.

  

Processes in the land sector were thrown through the window. Many of these would sell and allot land that was not yet surveyed. Like elsewhere, Laikipia to has cases of allocation of forest, riparian and wetland to individual.

  

Scores of plots are also not in conformity with conditions in the lease. But it has shockingly emerged that out of the 2,996 part development plans (PDPs) in the county only 212 are approved. This means that many leases and titles are sitting on unapproved part development plans.

  

The DCI has instituted a wide-ranging criminal investigation into land fraud in Laikipia. The racket involves forging of the PDPs, then generating back-dated allotment letters, before officials purporting to act on behalf of the cabinet secretary, issue land leases.

  

The agencies involved in the exercise to streamline the sector include the County Government of Laikipia, the Judiciary, EACC, DPP, NLC, Settlements, Land Registrar, and plot owners association.

  

The approach by the agencies is multipronged and operating on a common principles of the land sector. Each of the agencies is eager to see the results of its specific efforts in the land reforms process.

  

Dozens

  

There is a lot of fraudsters targeting Government land. Fake documents are rampant especially in Matanya and land-buying companies in Ngobit and Segera areas. We are closing in on them. County DCI Francis Wanjau said during the recent multiagency meeting.

  

The DCI investigation which targets dozens of officials at both levels of Government also includes officers at the national land commission, as well as private land brokers.

  

Nanyuki and Rumuruti are particular hot spots. In one recent incident, a senior land administration official purported to issue a lease on behalf of the cabinet secretary to a well-known Nakuru land broker - except that the backdated letter of allotment was issued when the broker was in school, and the land is already fully developed and belongs to another!

  

The fraudsters have targeted riparian land, government compounds, Kenya Railways, and the Nanyuki by-pass, among others. The DCI investigations are part of a broader effort to restore sanity in the land sector in Laikipia.

  

Digitized

  

In a far-reaching audit that may have devastating effects, the government has discovered that over 90% of part development plans (PDPs) in circulation are not approved, putting in doubt the legality of thousands of land leases (title deeds).

  

The PDPs are defective for many reasons, including flaunting planning processes, purporting to plan land that is already titled without extinguishing previous rights, and incomplete approvals.

  

The fact that incomplete PDPs are widely used has created a perfect loophole for fraudsters.

  

The government is racing against time to close the gap. The multiagency task force has been working in recent months to bring the sector back to rule of law. And it is already bearing fruits.

  

New guidelines for sub-division have been issued. The land registry at Nanyuki has been modernized, and the filing system revamped. A brand-new registry has been started at Rumuruti. The County planning department has digitized over 5,000 registry index maps, (R.I.M) and 1,400 part development plans.