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{
"id": 1457737,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1457737/?format=api",
"text_counter": 187,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Tabitha Keroche",
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"speaker": null,
"content": "Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity. Like the way Sen. Gloria has asked many questions, I rise to ask many questions. Once beaten, twice shy. I have seen elected leaders, especially from county governments like our governors, whose target is only to grab any public land that is available. I am sorry to say that some of these governors are suffering from the grabiosis disease. They only look for any land that is known public. In Nakuru, we have suffered a lot. We have land that has a legit lease and is registered to a public institution. The County Government jumped in and said that this land belonged to the public, but this person given this title is doing this kind of business on this land and as a governor, I feel I need to change it and do something I think is better for the county government and yet, that person has a lease. It is a 50-year lease with a legitimate title. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I wonder, with this Land (Amendment) Bill, will we not be giving a greenlight to county chief executive officers to be grabbing any land they feel they can grab or sell at their own expense? Mine is to ask these many questions, looking and exploring at this Bill even further, in order to see whether, it is for the benefit for the people of Kenya or it is going to put people into more problems where they will have land grabbed at the expense of the people of the counties. I will give an example because I am sure you have all seen a case we have had for the War Memorial Hospital. It has a legitimate title and a 50-year lease. This issue of this title has been ruled on by courts and the county government has been given eight court orders to re-open that hospital. However, according to them, they have refused to re-open the hospital because they feel the land should be taken back to them. Here, we now have to compare and ensure that anyone given a lease or has applied for one, including private institutions are guaranteed, that they can work and do business they started in that land given to them, until the lease ends. I know that constitutionally, it is clear that even if that lease ends, the first person to be given priority to re-apply is the same person that was given that land. Therefore, Senators, we need to keep looking at this. As I have said, once beaten, twice shy. For people who have not gone through what the people of Nakuru have gone through, they may be jumping into this Bill thinking it will help them and then they suffer the way we have suffered. Land grabbing is the biggest disease I have seen this in county governments. The moment a county CEO gets into that seat, all what they look for is to see which unoccupied land belongs to the public. They grab, sell and even misuse it and pretend that they are taking over that land for public use. Later on, you realize it is not for public use, but it is for personal use and gain. We need to condemn that and look at this Bill and be very sure that it will be for the benefit of the people of Kenya. However, we cannot The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."
}