This archive report was first published on 10 January 2020.
January 10, 2020, marked a day of protest in Bungoma town as over 120 surveyors demonstrated against a senior lands officer accused of frustrating them.
The surveyors, led by human rights activist Martin Wanyonyi, accused the officer, Josephine Ndanyi, of hiding key documents, including green cards, title deeds, and land transfer documents, which has paralyzed their work.
According to Wanyonyi, Ndanyi's actions have made it difficult for the surveyors to discharge their duties, and they are now demanding her transfer.
“Let Lands cabinet secretary Farida Karoney launch an investigation and transfer this officer, she is the main impediment towards discharging serious land matters here. We want her sent packing or be transferred elsewhere, we are tired,” said Wanyonyi.
The surveyors also accused Ndanyi of running a hotel at Sikata in Bungoma town, which sells food at the lands office during breakfast and lunchtime, a clear conflict of interest as a civil servant.
They also want the government to deploy more land registrars to Bungoma to ease the backlog of cases pending in the offices.
“Only one registrar can’t handle all these land cases. We need three to four of them so that they can expedite the exercise,” they said.
Additionally, the surveyors want one retiree, Leonard Wabwile, kicked out of office, claiming that he is being used by a cartel operating in the lands office to siphon money from the public.
Both the land registrar, Hellen Ajiambo, and the senior secretary, Ndanyi, denied the allegations leveled against them.
