Sometime last week in one of the dailies, I read that president Uhuru Kenyatta had revoked titles for some 500,000 acres of land. The president also alleged that the larger portion of this land was grabbed during the tenure of the grand coalition government between 2011 and 2012.
I usually don't pay much attention to Jubilee and TNA crap and PR campaigns, but this time, I made myself believe that the news would be great. Unfortunately, it only makes a terrible story.
Now, Lamu county has about 1,605,655.8 acres of land hence 500,000 acres, grabbed, would constitute a little more than 31% of this. This is contrary to Uhuru's claim that 30% of the land had been grabbed. Where is the president leaving out the other 1%? A whooping 16,056.6 acres of land!
I'm not surprised by Uhuru's rounded figures. It's public knowledge that the he can be pretty bad with numbers as long as it's convenient. When he was the finance minister, we recall how his ministry cooked up figures amounting to Sh10.7 billion of taxpayers' money.
President Uhuru's rounding of figures is unpredictable as he usually does not comply with conventional concepts. Such carelessness with numbers drove the country into near civil war in 2007 and threatened to drag Kenya into turmoil in 2012.
Failure to convincingly verify an alleged 50%+ win in the last presidential election has led to national division as never witnessed since independence. Division that politicians on every front and most notably TNA are now exploiting to divide Kenyans.
It would be imperative to note that the extended Kenyatta family reportedly owns land about the size of Nyanza province. This land was most probably acquired irregularly or rather grabbed in which case it would essentially make the Kenyatta family, land grabbers.
Kenya's coastal region has been a haven for land grabbing thieves since before independence. This state of affairs only worsened after independence as successive governments supported the thieves, even according them security. Kenyatta's government also reportedly ferried people to the coastal region and gave them land.
As if that's not enough, governments, especially Kenyatta's after independence, forcefully evicted coastal residents and took their land.
Lamu residents should know that the alleged reclaimed land will not be distributed to them since it is marked as government land. Land unfairly taken from native Lamu residents. It may as well just be awarded to supporters of the Jubilee/TNA regime and not benefit the locals.
The Lands Cabinet Secretary Charity Ngilu closed the lands registry in coastal regions for alleged inspection under Uhuru's directive. The last time she closed down the offices in Nairobi for alleged reorganization, Uhuru's records disappeared and it was later reported that he does not own any land in Kenya, which is most probably a lie. This may have been a move to protect Uhuru from criminal proceedings at the ICC by withholding information and evidence.
Maybe after the lands offices reopen at the coast, any records that could possibly incriminate Uhuru with have been wiped off too. That, as well as gaining political mileage is conceivably the essence of the announcement.
The announcement basically has nothing to do with positive land reforms nor was it made in good faith. Uhuru and his operatives are only keen on discrediting the opposition in a bid to save the face of his failed government.
The president's decrees, including this one, have been contested as they violate the constitution. His dedication to protect the constitution is questionable.
The most practical way to solve Kenya's land crises is by implementing the Truth Justice and Reconciliation Commission report which the president has ignored because it incriminates him and other cronies in government.
Kenya's land problems
President Uhuru Kenyatta's current campaign is an old political trick. Perhaps as old as humanity itself. It was developed by the colonial administration, adopted by Jomo Kenyatta's government and perfected during Moi's regime. Uhuru and his TNA sycophants have not quite learnt to deceive Kenyans, or perhaps Kenyans have grown a little smarter. That's why we can sniff right through their propaganda into the underlying malice.
We shouldn't let these pathetic politicians, including the president, divide us, whatever their motive.
I'm out.
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