Fresh details have emerged on how a well-connected cartel has been using a simple but dangerous trick to grab land from Nairobi families.
The cartel involves corrupt businessmen who are aided by corrupt government officials at the Ministry of Lands and at the Nairobi City County.
Multiple interviews indicate that a combination of State capture by vested interests with a tight stranglehold on the land sector, lack of political will and a compromised leadership at Ardhi House – the Land ministry headquarters – ensured the 10th and 11th parliaments passed a raft of new land laws but efforts to implement regulations to give teeth to the laws have largely stalled.
Land in Kenya is becoming a big problem. We have these cartels like @itsagneskagure that look for undeveloped land and do a smash and grab in cahoots with the local authorities. We need to have some serious reforms to protect the small man in this country #NairobiDeputyGovernor https://t.co/aB1i8BcORJ
— Royal Lady (@RoyalKenyah) October 16, 2018
The cartel has been taking advantage of the fact that most of the 99-year old leases issued to the first purchasers are expiring, and some of the current owners are unaware as no notice is given to them.
The businessmen are able to use their links at the Ministry of Lands and City Hall such that they are well aware of any property whose lease has expired or is about to expire.
#CartelsFightingBack The only thing that Kenya produces faster than financial fiascos is cartels to blame. Banking cartels, political cartels, land & education cartels etc who vanish into thin air in broad day light leaving the police with the hard work of destroying evidence
— Royal Lady (@RoyalKenyah) May 10, 2019
Many of the battles over land have ended up in court, including audacious hostile grabbing of prime properties – particularly in Nairobi – by powerful shadowy groups.
Legally, once a lease has expired, the owner loses legal claim to the property and the vicious cartel then starts making claim to the land.
A source at the ministry of land has hinted that the top officials at the ministry of land, interior and City hall have teamed up whereas the government is aware of the powerful cartels.
He states that the majority of Kenyans cannot afford to file a land case in local courts due to high costs, and the time taken to conclude a single case.
The Nairobi City County Government had disowned lease renewals, claiming cartels at the Lands ministry headquarters are depriving hapless citizens of prime land.
A report released in 2014 indicated that Kenyans are suffering in terms of low service delivery owing to the fact that they have to travel over long distances to access the courts.
The Assessment of the Performance of the Environment and Land Court (ELC) -16th Scorecard Report was released by the Land Development and Governance Institute (LDGI).
In the report, 30.1 percent ranked land cases as unaffordable with 21.4 percent ranking the costs as completely unaffordable. And 46.5 percent of the citizens seeking services at ELC felt the cost of seeking justice was just affordable and 1.4 percent ranked this as very affordable.
The most ruthless and dangerous cartels in Kenya right now are the land grabbing cartels. They work hand in hand with Ministry of Lands officials, Directorate Of Criminal investigations, Kenya Police, office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Judiciary. State capture.
— Boniface Mwangi (@bonifacemwangi) January 29, 2018
As part of the Judiciary Transformation process for speedier and more efficient service delivery, Kenya’s Judiciary has put in place measures to effectively deal with the age-old problem of never-ending case backlogs in the courts.
Orengo: Land cartels in Kenya have strong establishments, even enjoying govt. backing #LamuGrabbed
— K24 TV (@K24Tv) August 4, 2014
Among these measures include recruitment of more Judicial Officers and Staff, building and refurbishment of more courts, adoption of modern management practices including but not limited to leveraging ICT (information communication technology) in case management and processes.
Land has been at the center of endemic controversies in Kenya with entrenched cartels accused of fleecing unsuspecting citizens of millions of shillings in transaction frauds #SundayLive w/ @HusseinMohamedg
— Citizen TV Kenya (@citizentvkenya) March 18, 2018
There are ONLY 110 Licenced Land Surveyors in Kenya! Most of these surveyors you see around operate as 'franchises'. The Land Surveyors Board is made up of cartels who make sure that the syndicate is not infiltrated by "strangers"…just like the Engineers Board of Kenya.
— Mukolwe Frankline (@mukolwefrank) May 25, 2019
10 Steps on How to Buy Legit Land in Kenya 2019.
The land sector has cartels all over and it is the most likely investment you can lose money if you are not careful. https://t.co/qNhL8mxcVV #SokoWeekend pic.twitter.com/1DDQtDtYvY
— juma G. 🇰🇪 (@jumaf3) January 5, 2019