Charity Ngilu, Mohammed Swazuri in talks over Lands impasse

Lands Cabinet Secretary Charity Ngilu (right) and National Lands Commission Chair Mohammed Swazuri. (Photo:File/Standard)

By CYRUS OMBATI

Nairobi, Kenya: Lands Cabinet Secretary Charity Ngilu and National Lands Commission officials met on Friday in a bid to resolve their sharp differences.

The meeting at Ardhi House, Nairobi, was chaired by Solicitor General Njee Muturi and ran into the evening. Details of the meeting were scanty.

Officials said the commission was led by chairman Mohamed Swazuri and had had been called to the talks as they left for other engagements.

“We don’t know what they discussed. Muturi came and told them he had been sent to mediate,” said an insider.

Muturi is said to have been sent by President Uhuru Kenyatta, who felt the differences between Ngilu and the commission were not helpful.

Kenyatta made a surprise visit to Ardhi House on Thursday to witness the grounding of services there following an order by Ngilu to suspend transactions for 10 days starting Monday for audit.

Witnesses said the President arrived there in four cars at about 3.30pm and went to the registry on ground floor where he stayed for about 20 minutes.

He, however, did not meet the commission officials, which left many wondering. “He said he will be back after the two weeks to witness the progress. He did not visit the commission offices and we do not know why. He said he supports reforms being implemented,” said a staff at the ministry.

The commission has sued Ngilu and sought orders to stop her from interfering with its operations. Operations were grounded yesterday for the fifth day, with only staff with identification documents being allowed into Ardhi House.

Turned away

The public were turned away by police. A group of Kaya elders who had come to visit the commission was dramatically turned away.

More than 30 university students the minister brought there to carry out audit have been working in shifts.

Armed police officers were placed on fourth, sixth and ninth floors that house the commission offices.

Ngilu said the move was to facilitate reforms at the central registry. She launched the exercise and invited the media to witness it on Monday.

NLC termed illegal the shutdown that halted issuance of title deeds countrywide. Other sources said the contention has been heightened by reports most leases have expired and interested parties are pushing to have them illegally renewed.

The infighting has stalled land transfers, leases and the signing of title deeds at the ministry

Commission officials said they are also considering moving out of Ardhi House as part of measures to stop the minister from interfering with their operations.

Ngilu, in an advert, announced the department would be closed for 10 working days starting Monday, to review central land registries and services would resume on May 19.

“To realise these objectives, the Lands Directorate has set up a programme of re-engineering our business processes with a view of reducing the turn-around time on service delivery,” the notice read.

The banking hall remain closed, which has brought several operations to a halt as it is key to many land matters and payments. Registrations of land documents, searches, stamp duty payments, land rent payment and application for valuations and processing will not be done during the period.

Other affected services, according to Ngilu, include payments of allotments, application for subdivision of land, settlement programmes and land adjudication.

According to the advert, the ministry is exercising its power to facilitate efficient land administration and management entrusted to it. NLC went to the Supreme Court to seek an advisory opinion regarding its mandate and the Lands ministry and on land administration and management. The opinion is yet to be delivered.

The development is the latest in a standoff between the minister and the commission over who should be in charge of many crucial matters in the docket.

Experts say the ongoing conflict between the ministry of Lands and the National Land Commission is causing huge economic losses to the public.