The World Social Forum in Nairobi in January 2007 was a timely New Year rallying event for Kenyans to revisit the fundamental principles for building a democratic and sustainable society as we prepare for December 2007 elections.The current organizing principles of the institutions that govern us in Kenya are narrow and serve the few at the expense of the many millions of Kenyans that live in abject poverty. Yet, from all corners of the country it is acknowledged that it is within our collective ability to create a healthy and sustainable society that serves and work for all

The women Land Rights Project is a project of Kenya Land Alliance that aims at actualisation Women land and property rights, as provided in the Constitution of Kenya, 2013 and as a means towards poverty alleviation. This considering the fact that, in Kenya where the foundation of most communities is Agriculture and livestock production, women contribute up to 80% of workforce yet they only hold 1% of registered land in their names and around 5-6% of registered titles are held in joint names (Kenya Land Alliance, 2013).

The International Land Coalition (ILC) has commissioned this present report to analyze the illegal/irregular acquisition of land by Kenya’s elites to ascertain the types of land affected, the processes used to acquire land, and the profiles of the perpetrators, as well as to identify the victims and the impacts of land grabbing. The report is drawn largely from the Kenya Land Alliance (KLA)’s series “Unjust Enrichment: The Making of Land Grabbing Millionaires”,

The Kenya Land Alliance (KLA) welcomes the new Forest Act 2005 for placing forest resources at the core of sustaining both the local and national economies. Indeed locally forests are a source of food, fodder, wood fuel, construction materials, spiritual and cultural nourishment and traditional medicines among others. The Act, beyond highlighting the environmental and ecological functions of the forest sector, affirmsthe importance of our forest cover as one of the country’s major national assets, and this underscores the need to entrench it.

The present public land tenure management system in Kenya is fragmented, uncoordinated and non-transparent. The public land tenure as embodied in the Government Lands Act, Cap 280 of the Laws of Kenya lacks a coherent information system and is bedeviled by a lack of clarity in the roles, responsibilities and policies of different institutions in its administration, planning and disposal. Thus, there is a need for a set of national norms and standards to ensure efficient and effective use of public land as an asset in support of land reform.

THEME: “Sustainable infrastructure, services and social protection for gender
equality and the empowerment of rural women and girls”

The National Land Policy in Kenya: Critical Public Land Issues and Policy Statements is a guide to steer the debate and eventual formulation of a National Land Policy and legislative framework that will address issues of management and administration of public land in Kenya.

Land is the foundation of all human activities both social and economic. This is particularly so in agrarian economies such as Kenya. In these economies women are central to economic production in agriculture and livestock sectors. In Kenya, where the mainstay of most communities is agriculture and livestock production, women contribute up to 80 % of the workforce. Nevertheless, women only hold 1% of registered land titles in their names and around 5-6 % of registered titles held in joint names.

As the Government of Kenya treads the path to economic recovery, every Kenyan should be at home with the fact that many forms of economic development activities damage the natural resources upon which the economies are based. Nationally and internationally, a major environmental and development challenge is how to maintain the equilibrium between population, ecosystems and development.

The purpose of this Issues Paper is to move the debate and stimulate discussion of issues relevant to women’s land rights and social security beyond the unfulfilled demands for gender responsive land policies and land legal framework. It is based on lessons learned from various research findings, Kenya Land Alliance experience and discussions with colleagues with whom we work with in various capacities on land policy and law reforms in Kenya and others parts of Africa.

The illegal and irregular allocations of public land as chronicled in the Ndungu Report amount to a rip-off that dwarfs the Goldenberg and Anglo-Leasing scandals. Our analysis in this first issue in the series covers Karura, Ngong Road and Kiptagich forests and suggests a loss of public resources in excess of Ksh.18.4 billion. The Ndungu Report covers ten other forests as well as other public land, ranging from road reserves to cemeteries to public toilets and even State House land. As we cover these in future issues of the series, the cumulative loss will certainly be astounding.

The recently released report of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the Land Law System of Kenya has sparked varying reactions from Kenyans of all walks of life. While some complain that the Commission did not complete its task per all its terms of reference, the land gurus are thrilled by the fact that the report makes many far reaching recommendations on the principles of formulating a National Land Policy Framework and the Constitutional Framework for Land Administration and Management.