Residents in Kwale County have rejected title deeds issued by the government, claiming the parcels allocated to them are smaller than the ancestral land they have occupied and farmed for years.

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

The residents said the titles did not resolve their long-running disputes, with some claiming they had received plots measuring just 50 by 100 despite having traditionally owned and farmed much larger parcels.

The residents also raised concerns over the way the land was subdivided, saying some properties had been occupied by several people after the population increased over the years.

“The land that originally had about 900 people had grown to more than 2,000 residents, creating pressure on the available parcels,” one of the residents claimed.

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Additionally, the residents further claimed that 75 per cent of those who received allocations had not received title deeds, with some of the original landowners also left without documents proving ownership.

“The land had already been measured under settlement schemes, but the resulting allocations did not reflect the size of the land they had historically occupied,” one of the residents mentioned.

The complaints came as President William Ruto issued more than 94,000 title deeds in Kwale County a week ago as part of efforts to address long-standing land and squatter challenges at the coast.

The president handed over more than 26,000 titles to beneficiaries at Kibaoni in Lunga Lunga Constituency, covering residents of Lunga Lunga, Mwereni, Knana, Mkono wa Ndungu, Gombat and Anzwan ranches.

During the title handover, Ruto said that the government ultimatel y plans to issue  500,000 title deeds to beneficiaries across the Coast by the end of the year.

“When I sought your votes in 2022, I promised that I had the answer to the land question at the Coast. You are now witnesses that we meant what we said,” he said.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke