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{
    "id": 584550,
    "url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/584550/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 169,
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    "content": "The purpose of the NLC was to deal with public land; land that is covered by forests which hold it in trust for the people and Republic of Kenya and other natural resources in which this country takes great pride. In terms of the functions of that commission, function 5(e) requires that the commission shall initiate investigation on its own or a complaint into present or historical land injustices and recommend appropriate address. The functions continue on and on in the said section. However, I do not need to go into the details. Section 15 - this is the crux of the matter. The NLC was required within two years of its appointment to recommend to Parliament appropriate legislation for investigation and adjudication of claims arising out of land injustices. Since 2012, the NLC has not forwarded or to our knowledge, given any form of legislation for discussion by Parliament on historical injustices. Why do I say so? From the list that we have seen of pending legislation, this is one of those legislations that was, in fact, not affected by the 27th August, 2015 deadline. Why is it that 5 years into this Constitution, we do not have legislation on historical injustices? One of the agendas for the committee on Land and Natural Resources that was the precursor to the Grand Coalition Government was land. This was provided for under Agenda Four. One of the things that sent this country to the precipice is historical injustices on land. The mandate of the NLC on public land cannot be effected unless we deal with historical injustices. This simply means that nobody even now can complain about historical injustices and get justice about it. For example, a community in Makueni called Ngukakika Community, part of their land was annexed for the construction of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR). The Government annexed almost 60 acres of land for SGR construction from that community. Our people were of the view when the NLC went there, the funds for compensation for that piece of land should not have been paid before the historical injustices were resolved. Their claim is that land was taken away by a company that is known to them. The company has planted sisal, committed historical injustices and violation of human rights. When the NLC was called upon to make a determination they said since there is no law on historical injustices; they will pay the claim until that time when that law will be in force. For how long will commissions that have been given a legal mandate abdicate their responsibility? In my view, the NLC has abdicated its responsibilities to the people of Kenya. There are people in Taita Taveta and coastal Kenya who are complaining about land they have lost. There are people everywhere in this Republic, including Rift Valley, who have claims to land where title deeds are being issued, where acquisitions are going on, where The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}