President William Ruto has said the government will issue 500,000 title deeds at the Coast before December as part of efforts to address the region’s long-running land ownership and squatter problem.
Speaking in Lungalunga, Kwale County on Monday, Ruto said 26,000 residents had received title deeds and pledged to complete the remaining titles in Kinango, Msambweni and other areas, with the government spending Sh10 billion to settle absentee landlords and facilitate the process.
Ruto said the land question had contributed to poverty, conflict and displacement in the region, and that issuing title deeds was part of the government’s response.
“It has brought the problem of squatters, it has brought the problem of poverty, it has brought the problem of disasters, it has brought the problem of conflicts and violence,” he said.
“It has brought the problem of citizens being chased from their homes.”
Ruto said the government’s approach was to ensure people living on the land received ownership documents, while absentee landlords would be compensated before the land was redistributed.
“And the answer is to ensure that every citizen, wherever they are settled, wherever they live, is given their land, and given a title deed,” he said.
He said the government had allocated Sh10 billion to pay absentee landlords, survey land and prepare title deeds for residents.
“We have given Sh10 billion to finance these matters, to pay those who are absentee landlords and to ensure that title deeds for the people are prepared and every person gets theirs,” Ruto said.
The President also said no beneficiary would be charged for the title deeds, including those who were unable to attend the Lungalunga event.
“Not even one shilling,” he said, adding that those who had not collected their documents should go to government offices to receive them without payment.
Ruto said more than 300 government officers had been deployed to the Coast from Monday to Saturday to survey and measure land as the process continues in Taita Taveta, Lamu, Tana River, Kilifi and Mombasa.
He also cited title deeds for Lunga Lunga Ranch, Werueni Ranch, Kanana, Gumbato, Mukono and Ramisi, as well as documents for Pemba residents who had recently acquired Kenyan citizenship.
The President linked the title-deed programme to wider development plans for the Coast, including the expansion of the Port of Mombasa, roads, electricity and the blue economy.
He said Sh17 billion had been allocated for roads at the Coast, with eight projects ongoing and three additional roads approved in Kwale.
Ruto also said Sh2.7 billion had been spent on the Shimoni fish port, which he expects to hand over to an operator in November, while the Mwaepe fish landing site is expected to be completed before the end of the year.