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{
    "id": 664724,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/664724/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 352,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "The Senate Majority Leader",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 440,
        "legal_name": "Onesimus Kipchumba Murkomen",
        "slug": "kipchumba-murkomen"
    },
    "content": "(Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki): Madam Temporary Speaker, I beg to move that the Land Laws (Amendment) Bill (National Assembly Bill No.55 of 2015) be read a second time. This Bill gives effect to aspects of the Constitution by aligning the existing land laws to the new Constitution. The land laws in question are three; the Land Act of 2012, the Land Registration Act of 2012 and the National Land Commission Act of 2012.This Bill is trying to bring a number of amendments that align these laws to the Constitution. I would like to highlight four things in terms of these amendments. First, in the Land Registration Act of 2012, an office of the Chief Land Registrar is created. This Bill creates subordinate offices to support that office. In particular, it creates the Deputy Chief Land Registrar’s office, and more importantly for county governments, the office of the County Chief Land Registrar. Secondly, the Bill looks at the three land related Acts to synchronize the workings between the Ministry of Lands on one hand and the NLC on the other hand, especially with regard to the provision of Article 67 of the Constitution which in particular gives very broad functions to the NLC without clarification. For example, Section 67(2) states that the NLC shall recommend to the national Government a land registration system. However, how to go about it and the effects of those recommendations is not clarified. In the past, we have had turmoil and conflicts between the NLC and the Ministry of Lands, especially during the tenure of the previous Cabinet Secretary. Madam Temporary Speaker, we have seen some improvement of late and the information I have is that there is a cordial working relationship between the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development and the NLC. However, that is not enough. There is need for legal clarity. Therefore, those clarifications have been provided and this Bill has gone through extensive stakeholder discussions involving all the parties. That notwithstanding, I hope that the Committee on Lands and Natural Resources will look at it and see how else to improve it, especially from our ambit of protecting the interests of counties and county governments. Thirdly, this Bill provides clarification on a very important part of the Constitution; Article 67(2)(e) which without clarification states:- “67 (2) The functions of the National Land Commission are— (e) to initiate investigations, on its own initiative or on a complaint, into present or historical land injustices, and recommend appropriate redress”. This Bill offers a framework upon which historical injustices which have troubled our country for many years can be addressed, once and for all. We, as a country, are all aware that the time, we have tension, conflicts and disputes. A lot of these relate to land and the injustice that is associated with land. This Bill improves the legal framework in addressing the historical land injustices in our country for the first time. 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"
}