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Nubians to wait longer for Kibera titles


Hopes of the Nubian community in Kibera of getting land titles have been dashed following the bickering between the Lands Ministry and the National Land Commission.

Appearing before Senate Committee on Agriculture, Land and Natural resources on Tuesday, the commission’s chairman Mohamed Swazuri told Lands Minister Charity Ngilu that she had no mandate to issue titles deeds.

This position taken by Dr Swazuri invalidates titles already prepared by officers at the ministry, which were to be given to the Nubians in Kibera by President Uhuru Kenyatta two weeks ago.

Commission mandate

“It’s only the National Land Commission that is mandated on behalf of the National and County Governments to allocate public land and even sanction conversion of land to another category,” Dr Swazuri told the committee.

However, when proded Ngilu told the committee: “The commission does not have the legal mandate to sign title deeds. This is the work of the ministry.”

She added that the Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution backed her interpretation of her mandate and that she had written to Swazuri, saying his commission had no authority to sign the title deeds.

And so to her, nothing overturns the Kibera titles.

Ms Ngilu explained that the commission’s role is to advise her ministry on land matters and pointed that the overall executive powers on administration of land is therefore her reserve.