This archive report was first published on 27 August 2020.
Coast county governors have scored a major victory after their push to have residents in the region receive title deeds bore fruits. The governors, led by Ali Hassan Joho (Mombasa), Salim Muruvya (Kwale), Granton Samboja (Taita Taveta), and Amason Kingi (Kilifi), had petitioned President Uhuru Kenyatta to address the long-standing issue.
According to Lands Chief Administrative Secretary Gideon Mung'aro, the ministry is in the final stages of issuing thousands of title deeds in the Coast region. Over 30,000 titles are ready for issuance to squatters in counties of Kilifi, Kwale, Mombasa, and Taita Taveta.
Speaking during courtesy calls on Kilifi, Kwale, and Taita Taveta county commissioners, Mung'aro revealed that the president had directed the ministry to fast-track and finalize land issues at the Coast, which had remained unresolved for decades and were often used by politicians to whip up emotions during elections.
He noted that 8,000 titles had already been delivered at the local land registrar's office in Kilifi, with 19,000 more expected to be delivered in the next few weeks. In Taita Taveta, Mung'aro said two settlement schemes whose adjudication was carried out in 1969 and 1972 but whose titling stalled after 80pc work had been done would be finalized before the end of the year.
