The Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning has denied allegations of existence of loopholes for land grabbing cartels in Nairobi.
In a statement sent to newsrooms, Lands Cabinet Secretary Jacob Kaimenyi said contrary to what had been published in some local dailies on Thursday, the regulations to operationalize the Land Act 2012 had been developed and are awaiting approval for drafting at the Attorney General’s office.
It had been reported in a section of the media that Kenyans who leased land and their leases had either expired or were about to expire risked losing their parcels of land for lack of laws.
Kaimenyi clarified that the renewal of the leases had taken longer because the Cabinet had earlier suspended processing of extension and renewal to allow for measures to prevent any unlawful processes of extension and renewal of leases to be put in place.
“No fraudulent case by occupants of leased properties has been reported to the ministry or the law enforcement agencies. Those referred to in a section of the media are old cases which have been dealt with,” read the statement in part.
Media reports had further indicated that the most affected in the city are Westlands, Parklands and Ngara where cartels, in collaborations with ministry officials, scout for land registered in the names of legitimate but dead owners or whose lease had expired.
