President Uhuru Kenyatta has directed the issuance of title deeds by the Ministry of Lands to 150 colonial villages in Nyeri within three weeks. Speaking during the Madaraka Day celebrations on Thursday, Uhuru ordered Cabinet Secretary for Lands Jacob Kaimenyi to ensure that the matter is resolved as quickly as possible.
“I want to tell you that here in Nyeri there is still a problem and it is something I have said and I do not want to repeat it again,” he said.
He added, “This issue of nearly 150 colonial villages, I know the work is ongoing but it is not complete. I want and have directed the Lands Cabinet Secretary to complete the work within three weeks.”
The head of state assured that the Jubilee government lives up to its promise to issue the residents of the colonial villages with titles.
“And you should make sure that the Kenyans have received those titles after those three weeks. I will be here after those three weeks so that they can tell me if they have received the titles,” he stated.
The villages were set up by the British colonial government to accommodate thousands of locals who were displaced from their prime agricultural land by the white settlers.
Close to half a century later, generations of those displaced continue to live on the small pieces of land whose ownership they cannot claim, as they lack ownership papers.
