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{
    "id": 1052184,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1052184/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 185,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kipipiri, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Amos Kimunya",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 174,
        "legal_name": "Amos Muhinga Kimunya",
        "slug": "amos-kimunya"
    },
    "content": " Yes, and I assure the Member you will have enough time. Hon. Deputy Speaker, I rise to support this Bill by the Hon. Member for Ruiru and you can tell from the passion with which he talked about the issue, he is really feeling the pinch given the population density that is in that area. I know the issue having served in the Ministry of Lands. The first Ministry that I served with the Joint Cabinet was the Ministry of Lands and Social Protection. The biggest challenge was the status of all the land that had been set aside for public utilities. This is because traditionally, the Government did not have to issue a title deed to itself. The setting aside was enough and everyone knew this is land set aside for a school or for a town. It is only until early 1990s all the way to 2002 that all these... An audit was done to identify public lands. The intention was obviously to protect public land. However, people misused that information to now start saying we can allocate all that land to a few people and hence most of the public land that had been set aside ended up being grabbed. You know the land grabbing mania that we witnessed. In addition, that did not spare the road reserves, markets and literally about everything. Moreover, we had to then restart in 2003. One of my biggest challenges was how to start getting back all that land, including Kenyatta International Convention Centre, which had already been grabbed, and Karura Forest. So many places like the Processional Way had been taken. We managed to start that and here the task was bigger than just calling people to return titles. Hence, the Ndung’u Commission was set up to actually now identify, on a nationwide basis, all those pieces of land. Moreover, if you read that Report, it basically tells you the gravity of the matter in terms of how much land has been appropriated for personal good. It was set aside for public good. In addition, if you then look at, perhaps, some of that land, we are even buying it back through compensation for public roads. That is because people have titles and they claim they were given in good faith. Some are innocent buyers and, therefore, it becomes complex. Consequently, this amendment that is now compelling that all public land must be registered and titled comes in very handy. We do not just assume that because land has been set aside and is known as Government land, that it will be protected. It has now become mandatory that a title must be issued."
}