Lands CS Jacob Kaimenyi. [Photo/mediamaxnetwork.co.ke]
Lands Cabinet Secretary Prof. Jacob Kaimenyi has promised that the government will deal with past and historical land injustices across the country.
Kaimenyi said the government has the political goodwill and the necessary legislations in addressing the sensitive land question by issuing title deeds to squatter communities.
He was speaking when he made an impromptu visit to Mombasa land offices.
During the surprise visit to Uhuru na Kazi buildings that houses the regional land offices, the minister was shocked to find only three staff have been reporting to work in the past week.
“The Mombasa office have an establishment of 19 staff but surprisingly only three have been reporting to work consistently in the past week and this is a serious matter that will affect service delivery,” he said.
Kaimenyi gave 10 days for the absent officers to explain their situation before a disciplinary action is taken against them.
“In the past people have been pushed out of their ancestral land not only here at the coast but also in Meru County where I come from and indeed many other parts of the country,” he said.
He added, “we are committed to land reform and indeed in the recent past we committed Sh.1.2 billion to resolve the controversial 930-acres Waitiki farm in Mombasa.”
He said over 5,000 title deeds were issued to squatters at the Waitiki farm in Likoni sub-county in 2016.
The CS warned politicians against exploiting the emotive historical land issues in the run-up to the August polls.
“The electorate should be cautious of politicians keen on using land matters in seeking votes,” he said.