Kalenjin is undoubtedly the most populous tribe in Uasin Gishu and the Rift Valley.
It is part of the famous Highland Nilotes. Among the strongest cultural believes held by Kalenjins is the full ownership of a piece of land.
However, one of the norms of Kalenjins is that a woman is not allowed to hold a title deed.
“Women are always treated as inferior to men, you know we regard men as the heads of the family so by allowing a woman to take a title deed that will be contrary to our Kalenjin norms”, explained Phylis Arusei, a teacher in Eldoret.
John Kibet added that “A shamba is among those assets that we don’t allow women to own. It is not because we lack respect for them but we always feel secure when men own title deeds. It is a source of security and it will mean that a man has failed to play his role adequately when a lady owns a piece of land."
Despite the fact that culture has really diversified and a lot of women are independent and financially stable, it is still not in order for a Kalenjin woman to own land.
Kalenjins regard land as a precious asset and women lack the power to own it.
“A shamba is a property of men, even if the name of the woman appears on the title deed as a next of keen, the man is the one who is supposed to keep the title deed”, concluded Evans Tenai.
Thus, Kalenjins still believe that it is against their norms for a lady to own a title deed.
#hivisasaoriginal #upekuzi