Outgoing Lands Cabinet Secretary jacob Kaimenyi. (Photo/ministry of lands)Property owners have won a major reprieve after the court granted the Lands ministry six more months to validate more than three million title deeds.The move by the High Court sitting in Nairobi gives the ministry ample time to seek Parliament’s input in crafting rules that will facilitate regularisation of the title deeds.The constitution requires the ministry to engage the National Land Commission (NLC) in the issuance of all land ownership documents.In a judgment delivered in 2016, High Court Judge Joseph Onguto found that the government had erred by excluding the NLC from land lease and title issuance processes.Falling short of revoking all leases, grants and title deeds issued since 2013, Justice Onguto deferred execution of his judgement to facilitate correction of the anomaly saying the adverse impact of his judgement would have painful repercussions among land stakeholders, from buyers, sellers to banks.“Considering the immediate consequences, the declaration of invalidity is suspended to enable the Cabinet secretary initiate meaningful engagement with the public, seek and take into account the advice of the NLC,” ruled Justice Onguto.Commercial banks and the owners of the three million land titles issued since 2013 would have been left holding onto worthless papers had Justice Onguto declared all of them null and void.Earlier, State lawyer Charles Mutinda told the court that the government had initiated the process to correct the anomaly but was time-constrained after Parliament was dissolved ahead of the General Election.Mr Mutinda said the process of Parliamentary approval is outside the control of the Lands secretary and that Parliament is about to go on recess, adding that rest of the court orders had been complied with.

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