Owning land in Kenya, especially in the big towns and their suburbs, should be added to the list of 1,000 ways to die.

How else can one describe a scenario in which a hard-working Kenyan who earns an honest living buys a piece of land after undertaking due diligence, takes a loan and develops it, starts a family, raises his children then one day, out of the blues and in his twilight years, the government of the day announces that his home sits on a road, sewer or forest reserve and is earmarked for demolition?

Such is the predicament facing many Kenyans who despite owning genuine land ownership documents (issued by the government) have watched in horror as the same government brought down their dream homes built through sweat and blood. To add salt to injury, there is no chance of compensation. Who will save Kenyans from their government?

World over, successive governments inherit baggage from previous administrations. Some of the land issues that Kenya faces today can be traced back to the colonial era. My argument should not be misconstrued as a blanket condemnation of the state. Indeed, Article 62 of the constitution mandates the state to manage and protect all public land.

It is true that in some instances, individuals have illegally occupied and settled on what is classified as public land. Efforts by the government to eject them ought to be supported by all.

The elephant in the room, however, is in cases where officials in previous governments degazetted some sections of public land in clear abuse of office, allocated themselves and their cronies large tracts of the hived-off land and finally sold it to unsuspecting Kenyans.

See the original post here:

Has the title deed lost its sanctity? - The Star, Kenya