Land With Recent Graves Has Less Market Value, Lawyer Faith Alubbe Advises Potential Buyers

By Hillary Lisimba

Land is the one asset every Kenyan hopes to either own someday or add to whatever he or she already owns.

Sometimes, the urge to acquire the valuable asset has led to many circumventing the due process, which has sometimes been costly.

Buying land with recent graves

One thing many people hardly talk about is the issue of buying land with graves, something that the CEO of Kenya Land Alliance (KLA) Faith Alubbe has shed light on.

In an interview with TUKO.co.ke, the human rights activist disclosed that land with graves has less value on the market.

"It is prudent to research on the piece before buying to ascertain whether or not it had graves," she explained.

According to her, this varies from one community to the other as there are places where the dead are forgotten while other communities hold graves dear.

Need for research before buying

 In other words, such land needs to be investigated and the way forward regarding the graves determined upfront. This, she explained, is mostly handled by the authorities within the area who have mutations and the history of the land.

"Most times, one is allowed to buy the land minus the part with the graves. Other times the land is sold as a whole but the area with graves is deducted from the cost," she continued.

Which bring forth the question of whether sharing a space with graves of strangers is anything people get worried about.

Land is an intergenerational gift

The other question is whether one would be comfortable living in a house after learning that it was built on land that was a graveyard or cemetery.

Regardless of the different feelings on the same, Alubbe reiterates that even as people sell pieces, they should always know that land is an intergenerational gift.

"Take good care of the land you have because it will help your children and grandchildren," she concluded.

This article was published on TUKO NEWS on April 22 2023. Read it here: https://www.tuko.co.ke/people/503372-land-graves-compared-parcels-faith-alubbe-says/