ASSESSING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE NATIONAL LAND COMMISION IN ADDRESSING IRREGULAR AND ILLEGAL ALLOCATION OF LAND IN KENYA Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Award of the Degree of Master of Laws (LL.M) of the University of Nairobi. BY: BETTY ATIENO G62/67803/2013 SUPERVISOR: JOY K. ASIEMA NOVEMBER, 2016 i DECLARATION I BETTY ATIENO do hereby declare that this thesis is my original work and has not been presented for the award of a degree or any other award in any other University. Where works by other people have been used, references have been provided. Name: Betty Atieno Registration Number: G62/67803/2013 Signature _______________________________ Date: _____________________________ This Thesis has been submitted for examination with my approval as the University Supervisor. Name: JOY K. ASIEMA Signature _______________________________ Date: _____________________________ University of Nairobi, School of Law Parklands Campus, Nairobi. ii DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to my loving father and mother for their love and prayers have brought me this far. To my daughter Joy Valerie, no daughter could make a mother proud than you have made me. To my husband Sam thanks for everything. iii ACKNOWLEGEMENT I wish to acknowledge assistance and contribution of those who participated in encouraging me to put this thesis together. I acknowledge the contribution of my supervisor, Joy K Asiema for her guidance and insights during the study period. Along withmy hard working supervisors who played a big role during the writing process. I am grateful to Brenda and Sheila for their assistance in interviewing contributors during the data collection. To the interviewees who participated thank you. I also wish to thank my friends and colleagues at work for their moral support during the study. Finally I wish to thank my family for their ever-unfailing support. Special thanks to my mother Margaret and father Rev. Fanuel Nyambuoro for their prayers and encouragement gave me the strength to complete this thesis. Above all I thank the Almighty God for this far he has brought me. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Contents DEDICATION ............................................................................................................................ III TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................. V ACKNOWLEGMENT…...…………………………………………………………………… IV ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………………………………. VIII 1.1 CHAPTER ONE ...................................................................................................................... 1 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY .................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 THE PROBLEM STATEMENT ....................................................................................................................... 6 1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY ........................................................................................................................ 7 1.3.1 GENERAL OBJECTIVE ................................................................................................................................................... 7 1.3.2 SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES ....................................................................................................................................................... 8 1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS ................................................................................................................................ 8 1.5 HYPOTHESIS .................................................................................................................................................. 9 1.6 JUSTIFICATION TO THE STUDY .................................................................................................................. 9 1.7 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ...................................................................................................................... 9 1.8 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY .................................................................................................................... 11 1.9 LIMITATION TO THE STUDY ..................................................................................................................... 12 1.10 THESIS OUTLINE ........................................................................................................................................ 13 2.0 CHAPTER TWO ................................................................................................................. 15 2.1 LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................................................. 15 2.2 PROCESSES USED TO ILLEGALLY/IRREGULARLY ACQUIRE LAND IN KENYA ..... 17 2.2.1 LETTERS OF ALLOTMENT ......................................................................................................................................... 21 2.2.2 ILLEGAL/IRREGULAR ALLOCATIONS OF ALIENATED PUBLIC LAND .......................................................... 23 2.2.3 PURCHASE OF ILLEGALLY ACQUIRED PUBLIC LAND BY STATE CORPORATIONS/PARASTATALS ..... 23 v 2.2.4 ALLOCATION OF LAND BY UNAUTHORISED PERSONS .................................................................................... 24 2.2.5 UNJUSTIFIED EXCISIONS OF PROTECTED AREAS .............................................................................................. 26 2.3 NDUNG’U COMMISSION REPORT SOLUTIONS FOR ILLEGAL AND IRREGULAR LAND ALLOCATIONS .......................................................................................................................... 30 CHAPTER 3 ................................................................................................................................. 32 THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR ILLEGAL AND IRREGULAR LAND ALLOCATION ............................................................................................................................ 32 3.1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................................. 32 3.1.1 THE CONSTITUTION OF KENYA ................................................................................................................................. 32 3.1.2 THE LAND REGISTRATION ACT ................................................................................................................................. 34 3.1.3 THE LAND ACT ............................................................................................................................................................... 36 3.1.4 NATIONAL LAND COMMISSION ACT ................................................................................................................... 38 3.2 THE NATIONAL LAND COMMISSION ..................................................................................................... 39 3.2.1 CAPACITY OF THE COMMISSION ................................................................................................................................ 41 CHAPTER FOUR ....................................................................................................................... 46 4.0 PERFORMANCE OF THE NATIONAL LAND COMMISSION IN ADDRESSING IRREGULAR AND ILLEGAL LAND ALLOCATION ......................................................... 46 4.1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................... 46 4.2 REVIEW OF GRANTS AND DISPOSITIONS OF PUBLIC LAND IN LAMU…….43 4.3 CASE LAW ON REVIEWS UNDERTAKEN BY THE COMMISSION………….... 55 4.4 THE INADEQUACIES OF THE NATIONAL LAND COMMISSION IN CURBING ILLEGAL AND IRREGULAR LAND ALLOCATIONS .......................................................................................... 62 4.4.1 Lack of Capacity……………………………………………………………...… 59 4.4.2 Lack of Political Goodwill and the Vague Mandate of the NLC………………. 59 4.4.3 National Land Commission’s Powers to Investigate Land Injustices………….. 60 4.5 RECOMMENDATIONS FROM INTERVIEWEES ........................................................................ 65 CHAPTER FIVE ......................................................................................................................... 68 5.0 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................ 68 5.1.1 CREATE A NATIONAL LAND COMMISSION FUND ............................................................................... 68 vi 5.1.2 CLARIFY NLC’S MANDATE VIS-À-VIS THE MINISTRY OF LANDS’ MANDATE ................................. 69 5.1.3 AMEND ARTICLE 67(2)(E) OF THE CONSTITUTION ........................................................................... 69 5.1.4 DIGITIZATION OF LAND RECORDS ......................................................................................................... 70 5.1.5 OPERATIONAL GUIDELINES .................................................................................................................... 71 5.1.6 INCREASED CAPACITY ............................................................................................................................. 71 5.2 CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................................................