Jul 29, 2017 indeed, after the politicisation of land that was part of the 20072008 postelection violence that convulsed kenya leading to mass displacement, economic disruption and more than 1,000 deaths, a. The deficiencies of undue confidence in strengthening the rule of law and technical fixes are abundantly clear in kenya when one examines the history of bureaucratic sabotage 11 of land management and reform. Since the beginning of colonisation when land titles were created without due consideration for userrights and customary tenure, legitimate and legal rights to land were divorced. It is gratifying to note that the ndungu report has embraced it under the banner of public interest. The land grabbing phenomenon 7 a the disappearance of the public trust doctrine in the. Kenya institute for public policy research and analysis, 2010. Oucho 2002, to illegally distribute public lands such as forestland for personal interests and political gains klopp 2001. The following summary of the report of the ndungu commission on illegal and irregular allocation of. This research is based on a critical analysis of the findings of the 2003 commission of inquiry into the illegalirregular allocation of public land in kenya land is a focal point in kenyas history. With the enactment of the new constitution and the adoption of the kenya national land policy, most of the problems associated with land in kenya will begin to be resolved.
The making of land grabbing millionaires, living large series, vol. The ndungu report released in 2004 found extensive evidence of land grabbing by public officials in, among other areas, settlement schemes. Land grabbing has its genesis in preindependence kenya when a small group of white settlers were allocated 20 percent of kenya s landmass consisting of the best agricultural land. The commission of inquiry into the land law system of kenya the njonjo report of 2002. But the kenya lands alliance kla, a nonprofit making organization, supported the move saying the ndungu lands report had recommended a case by case approach in reclaiming public land.
The following summary of the report of the ndungu commission on illegal and irregular allocation of public land provides an insight into a critical, recent episode in the struggles over land and graft in kenya. The breadth and depth of the corruption was extensively detailed in the ndungu report, which estimated that, illegal. The challenge of reforming land governance in kenya under the. Review of african political economy, 103, march 2005, pp. This paper explores what the ndung u report tells us about the role of the legal profession in the illegal and irregular misallocation of public land. Digitization of the lands and companies registries in kenya. Some common terms and phrases used in this report 47 5. Anxiety mounts as repossession of grabbed public land gains.
Satire and the politics of corruption in kenya john. The publication of the report of the commission of inquiry into the illegal irregular allocation of land in kenya 2004, widely known as the ndungu report after its chairperson. The ndungu commission of inquiry into illegalirregular allocations of public land was established in 2003, chaired by paul ndungu, after whom the commission and its widely famous report came to be known. The need for land reform had been widely acknowledged in the report of the commission of inquiry into the illegalirregular allocation of public land, known after its chairman, paul ndungu, and the report of the commission of inquiry into postelection violence, compiled by judge philip waki. Keywords governance, rhetoric, excremental satire, primitive accumulation, constitution of kenya 2010, legal profession, land grabbing references adebanwi, w, obadare, e 2011 when corruption fights back. A few individuals in kenya own large tracts of land while hundreds of thousands of kenyans live in deplorable conditions as squatters. Land and water grabbing in an east african coastal wetland. Its nature and purpose, its judicial basis and its sociopolitical consequences, llm thesis 2005. Land governance continues to be a topic of high interest within policy and academic circles. Public land, historical land injustices and the new constitution sid.
Land law reform has taken place on a significant scale since 1990. Meeting report sixth workshop of the extractive sector forum. Yet in commenting upon this, the economist 18 december 2004 notes that kenya remains one of the most corrupt countries in the world, and opines that following the example of former president mois cronies, too many of the new ruling elite are out to. Statehouse leading demolitions on riparian, targets dp. The letter of allotment as an instrument of land grabbing 12. The achilles heel of police reforms in kenya journal of social sciences, science publishing group october 20, 20. Ndungu report 2004, and to stifle the operations of land institutions okoth. The report notes the importance of land in kenya, stating, land retains a focal point in kenyas history. Anxiety mounts as repossession of grabbed public land.
Land was the basis for waging kenyas struggle for independence land is pivotal to kenyas social, economic, political, and legal relations. Stanford libraries official online search tool for books, media, journals, databases, government documents and more. The social, economic and political mischief around land in. The ndungu report concludes that analysing andimplementing its recommendations is a formidable task the contents of the ndungu report have greatly influencedeven with the requisite political will and public institutions two. Advanced search mode is suitable for finding a particular case when you have details that describe the case at hand e. Linkedin is the worlds largest business network, helping professionals like casty njoroge discover inside connections to recommended job candidates, industry experts, and business partners. Gok report of the commission of inquiry into the illegalirregular allocation of public land ndungu commission, government printer, 2004. After independence, the involvement of political leaders in land patronage. Aug 18, 2018 if you want to right the wrong, you need a very elaborate plan. The great legal scholar patrick mcauslan described the 1990s as inaugurating a new era of land law reform mcauslan 20. The scale of the phenomenon in kenya can be assessed from the estimated 200,000 illegal titles created between 1962 and 2002 ndungu report, 2004 in southall, 2005.
The report highlights the role of the legal profession in land grabbing. The doctrine shall constitute the cutting edge of any actual or threatened allocation of public resources including public land. The initial report on the land tenure and violent conflict in kenya project 2008 observed that landrelated grievances are easily manipulated for political purposes. Addressing past and historical land injustice in kenya. Social issues submitted by wwkiptoo words 4527 pages 19.
The new constitution chapter 5 sections 60 68 classifies land into public, private and community and points out that all land in kenya belongs to the people collectively as a nation, communities and individuals. Indeed, landrelated conflicts in kenya stem from colonialism, which not only imposed alien land tenure relations in kenya, but also introduced conceptual, legal and sociological confusion in the traditional tenure systems then prevailing in traditional kenyan society before the advent of colonialism. The ndungu report at page 45 defines public land in these terms. The post colonial government of jomo kenyatta used the land formerly held by settlers for patronage purposesto solidify support and build alliances. Review of african political economy 32 103, 2005, p. Justice minister martha karua mentioned the ndungu report on land grabbing, alongside the anglo leasing and goldenberg scandals, as one of the major matters the government will be dealing with as. More broadly, the likely economic and social costs of widespread land. We draw the attention of the house to the following. Community land bill, 2015 and the ongoing land reform processes. Illegal allocation of public land in kenya also known as the ndungu commission after its chairman paul ndungu was the commission also dealt with the effects of title appointed by the narc government in 2003 to investigate cancellations on third parties, categorising them into the illegal or irregular allocation of public land in kenya. After independence, the constitution at that time had provisions for the establishment of a neutral police service. Given the land grabbing mania in kenya, there are a broad range of policy issues in relation to public land that need to be highlighted with a view to debating possible policy options to redress the numerous.
Land grabbing has its genesis in preindependence kenya when a small group of white settlers were allocated 20 percent of kenyas landmass consisting of the best agricultural land. To put it in the latest context, it is first worth noting that on the graft front. Indeed, after the politicisation of land that was part of the 20072008 postelection violence that convulsed kenya leading to mass displacement, economic disruption and. Urban land markets and corruption in kenya njambi kinyungu.
The ndungu land commission of 2003 was an inquiry into the illegalirregular allocation of public land and revealed a serious crisis in land grabbing by wellconnected individuals. The incorporation of the national land policy in the constitution and the enactment of laws on land by parliament is seen as an opportunity that will eradicate legal roadblocks that have hindered the implementation of recommendations made by the njonjo land commission rok, 2002, and the ndungu report 14 rok, 2004. However, because trust land has long become victim to land grabbing, the commission. The genesis of policing in kenya dates back to the preindependence times. Statehouse leading demolitions on riparian, targets dp ruto. The commission of inquiry into irregular allocation of public land, otherwise known as the ndungu land report in its findings noted.
Past reports on land grabbing are a good starting point e. The role of professionals in the irregularillegal allocations of public land. The most affected region is the coast province where land issues stem back to preindependent era where settlers dished out community land as gift to their cronies while keeping the rest for themselves. The report is drawn largely from the kenya land alliance klas series unjust enrichment. First you must come up with a criteria for identifying the buildings and structures which are constructed on grabbed public land such as riparian areas and land once set aside for other purposes. The land related conflicts in kenya continue to be pronounced because both the economic and legal frameworks upon which the relegation or intended extinction of customary land rights was based have failed the test of time. Oct 20, 20 view casty njoroges professional profile on linkedin. Democracy and elite interest in nigerias anticorruption war. While in later years kenyans witnessed the grabbing. Pdf the following summary of the report of the ndungu commission on illegal and. The making of land grabbing millionaires, which focused on the illegal andor irregular allocation of protected forest land, and land held by public corporations and parastatals 2006a and b and the report of the commission of inquiry into the. It makes clear that the legal profession, far from upholding the rule of law, has played a central role in land corruption, using its professional skills and networks to accumulate personal. According to manji 2012, these estimates are even conservative. The manner in which land institutions should or should not go about reforming national land policies has been a highly contested topic given the complex and multilayered nature of landrelated conflicts.
Professor tom ojienda counsel for the plaintiff in the advisory opinion reference 2 of 2014, further emphasized on this problem of land grabbing by the government and its officials, quoting the ndungu report and akiwami report which show that the excessive powers granted to the government under the government land act was a key factor for. Lawyers, politics and public land in kenya article pdf available in the journal of modern african studies 5003 september 2012 with 547 reads how we measure reads. Dec 12, 2018 professor tom ojienda counsel for the plaintiff in the advisory opinion reference 2 of 2014, further emphasized on this problem of land grabbing by the government and its officials, quoting the ndungu report and akiwami report which show that the excessive powers granted to the government under the government land act was a key factor for. Methods of analysis 27 e information received in response td summons 28 f information from official reports 29. The following summary of the report of the ndungu commission on illegal and. Land grabbing has its genesis in preindependence kenya when a small.