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{
    "id": 1472140,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1472140/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 262,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Sifuna",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13599,
        "legal_name": "Sifuna Edwin Watenya",
        "slug": "sifuna-edwin-watenya"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Speaker, Sir, in Nairobi City County, and I am sure even across the country, we have had serious challenges with the registration of land that is owned by public entities and bodies. In fact, we had occasion one time to have a conversation with the governor of Nairobi City County before the Standing Committee of Roads and Transportation. When the question was put to him on whether the county government had titles for the old city council estates land which are earmarked for redevelopment, his answer at that particular moment in time was in the negative. The challenges that we face, especially in Nairobi City County with public land, is that for as long as a piece of land remains untitled, it is susceptible and exposed to the land grabbers and other nefarious characters who want to take the land away from the public. In fact, the highest number of complaints reaching my office now are about land that has been grabbed. Just today, I have received at least two of those, and it is becoming too much. I have heard even senior Government leaders complain that we must stem this spectre of land grabbing in any piece of land that has been set aside even in estates for public use. These days, you wake up to find a wall going up and hear that a private developer has taken it up to the extent that when the Cabinet Secretary for Lands, Public Works, Housing and Urban Development appeared before this house, then Hon. Alice Wahome, told this House that somebody had grabbed the land on which Tom Mboya Social Hall was standing. I am happy that at that particular moment in time, she had assured the people of Nairobi City County that we were going to recover the land upon which Tom Mboya Social Hall sits and make sure that it is never grabbed again. Unfortunately, the intervening events meant that there were changes in the Ministry, and we hope that going forward, the Government will ensure the sanctity of these pieces of land. I am happy this amendment will now require the registration of land that is set aside by persons or even land belonging to land-buying companies for a public purpose. I remember, again, in last year’s’ session, the Cabinet Secretary for Education was before this House, and we confronted him with the spectre of Visa Oshwal Primary School. If you ask a regular Nairobian or anybody in Kenya, they will tell you it is a public primary school. However, it was being claimed by the Oshwal Community, which is a private entity. Therefore, we want to make sure that the gap that was there in the registration of such pieces of land is closed so that we can have title deeds for all land that is allocated to public bodies or even land that is donated by individuals and land buying companies for purposes of a public use. Mr. Speaker, Sir, this will see to it that these disputes that we have between private persons, private individuals, the so-called land grabbers and public bodies are solved. For The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only.A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and Audio Services,Senate."
}