[Lands CS, Professor Jacob Kaimenyi at a past event. Corrupt ministry of land officials are colluding with cartels to defraud Kenyans off their land. Photo: Daily Nation]

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Lack of laws governing land leases extensions or renewal has seen hundreds of Kenyans whose land leases have expired or about to expire lose their land to cartels.

The said cartels collude with various Lands ministry officials to fraudulently process extensions or renew land leases.

Since the Land Act, Land Registration Act, National Land Commission Act and Community Land Act took effect, no proper regulations have been developed.

This has created a loophole that enables the cartels to subvert the law and take over people’s property.The most affected areas according to National Lands Commission official Abdulkadir Khalif are in Nairobi’s city centre, Parklands, Westlands, Ngara and Mombasa. Last year, the Cabinet froze the renewal of land leases in a bid to rein in these cartels. The moratorium was lifted in June this year, through a Kenya Gazette notice signed by Lands Cabinet Secretary Jacob Kaimenyi.The law gives priority for renewal to those occupying the land.Investigations show unscrupulous land administration officers provide information on expired leases or those about to and help in facilitating of allotment letters for new owners. The cartels then use counterfeit documents to grab the land in liaison with crooked government officers at the Survey offices.