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{
    "id": 1186563,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1186563/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 369,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Emuhaya, ANC",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Omboko Milemba",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "The Kenyan situation changed with colonisation of the coming of foreigners to this country. The first team to arrive was made up of Arabs, Persians and that history goes on and, therefore, they alienated part of the Coastal land for their use. When the Portuguese arrived, they alienated a lot of land. The worst injustices were done by British colonisers who set in with what was called the land ordinances beginning with the ones of 1894 to 1902. The most popularised was in 1915 which alienated the Maasai land and so on and so forth. I am coming closer to the issue of land subdivision. Africans, who would originally occupy any area and fight among each other for land occupation, were now restricted to certain areas. That set in the issue of land subdivision, which has continued to date. For those communities living in Western Kenya where I come from, for example, Vihiga, all the way to Kisii, have high populations and small lands. The same case applies to where the Mover and the Seconder of the Motion come from, that is in Kitale and Luo land areas. That then raises the question of implementing the constitutional requirement that an optimum minimum be required for the land that can be owned and even a maximum one. Therefore, this Motion is relevant. In my view, this Motion allows us a chance to actually look into the current land policy issue as outlined in Article 40 of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010, which guarantees ownership of private land by any person. It is only limited by Article 65 which restricts maybe certain foreigners from owning land and if they were to own it, they would do so on a lease of 99 years. Given the current circumstances where this country is reeling from hunger and starvation, agriculture becomes the core business. I like the Kenya Kwanza policy which now fronts agriculture as the core issue which must be undertaken to solve the problem of food in this country. In this case, this Motion becomes relevant. Although it becomes relevant, it is important to address the issues of those small land owners who will then have to surrender their land in order for us to provide space for agrarian land. I am happy that there are certain mitigations that can be undertaken. Why do people subdivide land into small pieces? Most of them do that in order to give a share to family members and this is customary. Others do it to give out land as gifts while others sell it for profits. Private developers may subdivide land for the sake of value to sell it to other people. But I want to capture the first reason that is to share it among the family as a matter of customary inheritance: From the forefather to the father, and then from the father to the son. This will have to be addressed. If there is such a fund, the Government can spare some money to buy land from those families who will be paving way for land to get arable for it to be farmed. We should then resettle them through the good program that the current Government is carrying out on housing scheme. This will actually guarantee every Kenyan a proper and decent housing. We hope this happens like it did in South Africa as the Mover highlighted. This would then provide a forum and easy means to make these many families who are clustered in the same place to access the social services they require like water, electricity and gas. The big question is the arable land that is lying idle and it is larger than the small lands that we could be targeting. The truth is that majority of the people with small land are tilling it even three or four times a year like in Western where I come from. We till land four times. There is the first digging as we call it in local English, the second one and even the third one and therefore, it is fully utilised. The real challenge are the owners of the big chunks and whereas the Mover was fearful to name them, they are named everywhere. It is unfortunate that political leaders are the ones who own much land with exception of number five, a lady by the name ("
}