Big landowners to lose excess holdings under proposed law

Politics and policy

A group of Murang’a residents protest at the Ministry of Land’s headquarters at Ardhi House in Nairobi demanding that the government provide them with title deeds for their land. PHOTO | FILE 

By GEORGE OMONDI, omondi@ke.nationmedia.com

In Summary

• Private citizens will not be allowed to hold more than 25 acres if the Kenya Minimum and Maximum Land Holding Acreage Bill 2015 becomes law.
• If Parliament passes the Bill, every landowner will have to maintain a tree cover of not less than 10 per cent of the total holding and observe the maximum livestock numbers prescribed for each zone.

A proposed new law is out to cap the amount of land an individual can own, setting big landowners on the path to giving up large chunks of their holdings or paying taxes on idle land.

The Kenya Minimum and Maximum Land Holding Acreage Bill 2015, which has been put out for public scrutiny by the Commission for Implementation of the Constitution (CIC), also seeks to repossess “excess” land in private hands for redistribution to the landless and demarcate agricultural and pastoralist zones.

“The acreages based on ecological zones, will reduce inequality, promote equitable distribution of land, regulate subdivision, promote sustainable use of private land and enhance national security and economic stability,” acting Land secretary Fred Matiang’i says in the Bill’s memorandum.

If Parliament passes the Bill, every landowner will have to maintain a tree cover of not less than 10 per cent of the total holding and observe the maximum livestock numbers prescribed for each zone.

Article 68 of the Constitution requires Parliament to enact legislation prescribing maximum and minimum landholding acreages in respect to private land.

Under the proposed law, individuals in rich agricultural highlands will own a maximum of 10 hectares (24.7 acres) — a limit that extends to 15 hectares for the not-so-rich agricultural land.

That means, if the Bill becomes law, no single individual will own more than 24.7 acres in Bomet, Kisii, Nyamira, Nandi, Trans-Zoia, Vihiga, Uasin Gishu and Bungoma counties, which are classified as high potential agricultural areas.

Individuals living in semi-arid areas will be allowed to hold a maximum of 25 hectares (61.8 acres) while those living in dry and remote sections of Isiolo, Mandera, Kajiado, Kwale, Garissa, Wajir, Tana River and Turkana counties will be allowed to own up to 2,471 acres.

The drafters of the Bill say capping individual ownership will ensure prudent exploitation of available land in the face of rapidly growing population.
“Holders of land may engage in cooperative farming by pooling their land and other resources together to enable them undertake large-scale farming and share earnings,” the Land Ministry, which is the sponsor of the Bill, says.

The proposed law seeks to empower both the national and county governments to acquire “surplus land and redistribute to landless persons who are capable of putting it into economic use”.

Where a person holds land in excess of the prescribed limit and such land is not put to use, “such land shall be taxed.”

The Bill also says that the size of land to be held by married couples and foreigners will be specified in a guideline to be issued by the minister after the Bill is passed.

On Wednesday, the CIC said it was testing the Bill’s alignment to the Constitution and is seeking the input of civil society, counties and farmers.
“They have up to July 3 to submit written memorandum by e-mail,” CIC chairman Charles Nyachae said.

Ibrahim Mwathane, a surveying and land information consultant, read mischief in the ministry’s rush to get the Bill approved, saying the public had been edged out of its drafting.

“Obviously, the ministry opted to keep the public in the dark because it appreciates the controversial nature of this Bill,” Mr Mwathane, also chairperson of the Land Development and Governance Institute, said.