The historical development of land law in kenya the. Kenya was selected because it is a developing country in which colonial and postindependence governments extensively introduced three different land registration systems as a means of supplanting communal tenure. Pdf secure tenure is one of the factors of ensuring sustainable economic. It is a valuable asset that no one would wish to part with and in kenya, the government retains the ultimate title to land. Impacts of different land registration systems on communal. We would like to show you a description here but the site wont allow us. Tenure systems can contain many different kinds of rights for example, rights to ownership, right to use, right to access, right to control and right to transfer,2 and land rights can be a source of conflict and political debate. Land tenure and violent conflict in kenya kenya reliefweb. The following are some of the importance of land tenure system. It is the greatest interest a person can have on land as it gives the holder absolute ownership of the land for life.
Customary land tenure is characterised by its largely unwritten nature, is based on local practices and norms, and is flexible, negotiable and location specific. The critical problem facing kenyas land tenure system is the inequitable distribution of land, rooted in land injustices of the past, in some acts that were illegal, while others. Land can either be owned in perpetuity or for a given period of time. Customary tenure systems continue to predominate, especially in rural areas, in spite of statutory efforts to modernize the tenure landscape in recent decades. Its components are the system of land ownership and system of labour organization.
The lsr can help to improve the poors access to land and alleviate poverty in developing. This is an important issue for kenya, due to new constitutional rules. Legal framework the constitution of the peoples republic of china p. The compulsory acquisition procedure is as follows. Revised edition 2010 1983 published by the national council for law reporting with the authority of the attorney general.
These and other factors combine to create an uncertain tenure. The main land system in precolonial kenya was communal tenure which is not commonly recognized in the western cultures. Land tenure is the relationship of people or groups interacting in a society with respect to land. The republic of kenya was selected as the main study area for this thesis, within which three case studies were chosen. It is, land not registered in individual or group titles but occupied by a given community and still governed by the customary land laws, is the largest within the kisumu municipality. Land is capable of having various rights, interests and obligations coexisting. Indeed, the government has allocated an estimated 73% of land to concessions for logging, mining, and largescale agriculture, often resulting in the displacement of communities or restriction of their. There are various types of land tenure systems in uganda under under which citizens and foreigners can buy land, own and utilize it. Meeting on land tenure systems and sustainable development in southern africa held 1 3 october 2003, in lusaka, zambia, and their comments have been incorporated into this report. The land tenure systems operative in kenya have been characterised as.
Ownership, policy, laws, tenure and reforms land tenure in kenya. However, rates of violence are very high in southern africa. Land tenure and economic development in rural south africa. Importance of studying land tenure system in kenya zakenya. Spatial information in land tenure reform with special reference to kenya international conference on spatial information for sustainable development nairobi, kenya 25 october 2001 2 or computer form, in a national spatial data infrastructure. Mar 01, 20 land tenure system in kenya started during the independence period.
Towards securing community land tenure in kenyas counties. Government to merge six agencies to form mega development bank. Importance of studying land tenure system in kenya. Land in the country is owned by the government, county councils, individuals and groups.
Ghanas land tenure system impedes the countrys socioeconomic development, and is completely out of place in a modern, progressive country. T his is an ownership of a temporary right to hold land in which a lessee or a tenant holds rights to the land by some form of title from a lessor or landlord. There are two types of land tenure system in kenya. Denying kenyas women access to land rights world bank. The customary land tenure system is comprised of stool, skin, clan, family and individual lands. A land tenure system is the way in which a society obtains, uses and distributes rights to land. After independence, the unequal fundamentals of the colonial land tenure system and oppressive relationship between statutory and customary tenure remained.
Land tenure in much of africa is usually portrayed as either customarytraditional, or statestatutory. The effects of existing land tenure systems on land use in kenya today international conference on spatial information for sustainable development nairobi, kenya 25 october 2001 3 land tenure systems in kenya interests in land broadly fall into two groups. The flexible land tenure system flts is an innovative concept to provide affordable security of tenure to inhabitants in informal settlements in namibia the basic idea of the flexible land tenure system is to establish an interchangeable tenure registration system parallel and complementary to the current formal system of freehold tenure. I he present system, which is believed to be the best type of land tenure, is the privatisation of. The substantive and registration law for all land formerly held under customary law was codified in the registered land repealed act of 1963.
Tenure in the whole of kenya changed tremendously from communal holding to individual holdings in most areas. A good land tenure system should not force people off the land, particularly those who have no other way to earn a reasonable living or to survive. Land tenure system has got its specific importance for the development of agriculture. Summaries of land tenure categories and governing laws in kenya. Land reform involves changes in tenure relations between land users and the landowner, or in tenure systems, instigated. Importance of tenure today land tenure system has got its specific importance for the development of agriculture. The ten mile coastal strip mile coastal strip in kenya is a piece of land inland. This paper can be downloaded in pdf format from ielrcs website at. These are formerly native areas, awaiting smallholder registration to bring them under the privatemodern tenure system.
Manual land information management, as practiced in kenya. Kenya for centuries, the legal and policy framework on land tenure has, since. The various forms of ownership manifested over the years brought. Recognise a diversity of tenure systems, balanced with principles of social equity. Land tenure system prevailing in the country helps to locate the actual owner of the land by. It is an aspect that has varied definitions but is important in ensuring that the relationship of people with concern to land is improved for their benefit. Lowcost lsr can help to clarify land property rights and ensure food security holden and ghebru, 2016. The purpose and scope of the proposed tenure reform in the former homelands of south africa are described, as well as the attempts by south africas neighbours to resolve tenure problems in the. Introduction concern about land tenure and its impact on land use as well as the management of natural resources is not a recent phenomenon in kenya and indeed in the whole of africa.
Trust land is the most extensive type of tenure, comprising 64 percent of the total land area in 1990 20. Jan 10, 2017 importance of tenure today land tenure system has got its specific importance for the development of agriculture. Challenges of land tenure and reform in africa or a short summary of major issues that need to be addressed. Okothogendo department of public law, faculty of law, university of nairobi, nairobi, kenya introduction an important theme in this workshop is the assumption that for agricultural development programmes to. Land falls within a species of property that cannot be neglected. Importance of land tenure security for rural development. Footnotes i 1 in the coastal belt of kenya, territory permanently leased from his highness the sultan of zanzibar and ad ministered as a protectorate by the government of kenya, the land situation is in a state of confusion partly. Land tenure system should protect peoples rights in land so they are not forced off the land before there are jobs available in the nonagricultural sector of the economy. Lessons of experience and emerging issues lorenzo cotula, camilla toulmin and ced hesse february 2004 copies of this publication can be obtained from. The effects of existing land tenure systems on land use in kenya today chege waiganjo and paul e. Kenya lacks major exploitable mineral resources and arable land is scarce.
The study shows that kenyas land tenure systems are historically. An investigation on the effects of individualization of. Sep 27, 2015 the main land system in precolonial kenya was communal tenure which is not commonly recognized in the western cultures. The effect of existing land tenure systems on urban land.
Pdf customary land tenure dynamics at periurban ghana. In august 2008, the african centre for technology studies acts launched the inception phase of a project on land tenure and violent conflict in kenya. Its principles stem from rights established through first clearance of land, or con. Findings the study has revealed that land tenure insecurity is still widespread in southern africa. The effects of existing land tenure systems on land use in kenya. Kenyan mergers and acquisitions of 2015 quantum economics. Types of land tenure systems in uganda land ownership in uganda. Rights over the land are under the control and direction of the president of the united republic and those rights cannot be disposed of without the consent of the president.
Land tenure system in the northern nigeria in the northern nigeria in particular before the land use act, 1978 all land in the region with only minors exceptions, were declared native lands and were vested in the commissioner responsible for land matters as trustee for the people of that region 1 1. This coastal region in kenya, where the islamic tenure is entrenched, is commonly referred to as the tenmile coastal strip. The country is in the process of transiting from the old land registration tenure of 999 years, to a shorter one of 99 years, at a time when digitisation is also taking place to promote ef. The topic of land has long been, and continues to be, central to the lives of most africans, and to the politics and economies of african countries. Land tenure system in kenya started during the independence period. Implementation of the legislation and further reforms are carried out through a variety of regulations and policies. Land tenure classifications in kenya cambridge centre for. Kenya, tenure, community, land law, land reform, property rights. This is because in the western world there is an aversion for anything communist or socialist, hence the westerners refused to even recognize that such tenure existed. May 11, 2003 ghanas land tenure system impedes the countrys socioeconomic development, and is completely out of place in a modern, progressive country. This act was to replace all other laws related to land in kenya.
About 78% of the total land area in ghana belongs to these customary land owners 4 arkoadjei et. Land tenure and related institutions gender and land. This year, the largest concluded deals have seen helios sell a stake in equity bank to norwegian funds and and old mutuals purchase of a 60. The institutions that will be merged to form the mega development finance institution include the kenya industrial estates, development bank of. In this article we will discuss about land tenure system. In the context of this research, the term land acquisition is applied to include actual purchases or leases of land by foreign or noncitizen entities, for purposes of investments. Justice for the poor programme j4p in kenya and the legal resource foundation. The assessment covered nine thematic areas, namely. This land, which was previously held on freehold tenure by individuals, covers about,800 of land, representing 53. Types of land tenure systems in uganda land ownership in. Improving liberias land tenure system is critical for poor urban and rural populations, whose rights to land and natural resources are tenuous.