This archive report was first published on 3 October 2019.
President Uhuru Kenyatta has appointed Gershom Otachi Bw'Omanwa, his lawyer, as the new head of the National Lands Commission. This appointment comes after Muhammad Swazuri's 6-year tenure at the helm of the agency ended on February 19, 2019.
Mr. Otachi has a strong international legal background, having undertaken assignments and represented clients before the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Arusha, Tanzania, and the International Criminal Court in The Hague, The Netherlands.
According to a Gazette Notice Number 9339, dated October 2, 2019, President Kenyatta announced that Mr. Otachi's 6-year term, along with that of eight other new commissioners, would begin on October 2, 2019.
Mr. Otachi is a respected lawyer who has successfully represented General Hussein Ali and participated in the defence of President Uhuru Kenyatta. He is also an alumnus of the University of Nairobi and has been serving as the Chairman of the Geothermal Development Company since 2015.
He is joined at the Commission by Esther Murugi, James Tuitoek, Getrude Nguku, Reginald Okumu, Hubbie Hussein, Alister Mutugi, Kazungu Kambi, and Tiya Galgalo. The nine-member team was approved by the National Assembly on October 1, 2019, after President Kenyatta forwarded their names for vetting on August 20.
