Senior government officials and developers will appear before the National Land Commission today to explain how they obtained large parcels in the controversial Kilifi Jimba settlement scheme. The commission says it has unearthed illegal allocation and acquisition of prime land at the expense of residents.
Persons expected to be quizzed include former officers who took part in the adjudication process and their colleagues in different ministries who allocated themselves land.
NLC is also probing foreigners who are suspected to have colluded with residents to obtain and sell land at exorbitant prices to unsuspecting clients years after a ban was imposed by the government in 1987. Some cartels obtained fake titles in the 1990s, despite the embargo on transactions and sold their parcels for millions of shillings before they vanished.
The commission has been holding inquiries on how the allocations were done, with a view to lifting the 31-year embargo. The NLC is reviewing all allocations to determine genuine landowners in the 500-acre scheme. The NLC team led by acting chairperson Abigael Mbagaya had by Tuesday dealt with more than 300 plots and allowed more than 80 per cent of the landowners to get titles.
Mbagaya said the NLC intends to lift the sale embargo on the entire Kilifi Jimba settlement scheme to enable residents get titles to develop their properties.
[Full article: The Star, by Alphonce Gari]
