Ruto Directive to Trim NLC Powers Hit With 7 Demands
By Timothy Makokha
The Kenya Land Alliance (KLA) on Tuesday, May 23 issued seven demands regarding President William Ruto’s move to transfer land valuation function from National Land Commission (NLC) to the Ministry of Lands.
In a statement, KLA CEO Faith Alubbe opposed, Ruto’s directive, terming it unconstitutional.
“Kenya Land Alliance (KLA) highly considers the attacks on the NLC as unconstitutional and a direct move to undermine the principle of checks and balances, erode democratic norms, and pose a threat to the integrity and independence of crucial Land Governance institutions,” read part of KLA statement.
As a result, KLA maintained that if there were instance of abuse of office and corruption, due process should be upheld and the specific corrupt officials at NLC be brought to book.
In addition, Alubbe noted that as a symbol of national unity, the President should protect communities affected by government projects by ensuring they get their duly deserved compensation.
They also demanded that the President should protect Kenyans and their heritage, consequently, the lands held by leaseholds that are about to expire should be published in a Kenya gazette and public participation processes undertaken.
Further, KLA demanded that requisite valuation processes should be undertaken by experts as guided by the law, failure to which, the president would be in breach of the rule of law.
Still on the same, they demanded for the review of existing gaps in the requisite processes that abet corruption and abuse of office.
This, they argued would allow Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) to investigate and get to the bottom of the raised allegations.
At the same time, they raised the issue of the need to empower relevant communities to register their lands as provided by the Community Land Act, 2016.
KLA also demanded that in line with the principles in Article 10 and 60 of the constitution, the almost expiring leaseholds should be published and communities allowed to have a say on what happens on their land.
On May 21, President William Ruto issued a new directive, slashing the powers of the National Land Commission (NLC) with immediate effect.
Speaking in Isiolo during a thanksgiving service, President Ruto noted that there was a massive corruption within NLC and mostly it stemmed during the compensation process.
"Going forward, it is not possible for NLC to decide where the compensation is going to happen, who is going to be compensated and then they also decide how much it is going to be paid.
"We must separate powers for purposes of accountability. NLC will work on their mandate and the Ministry of Lands will handle the valuation," Ruto stated while slashing NLC powers.
The article was published on May 23rd 2023. Read it here: https://www.kenyans.co.ke/news/89652-ruto-directive-trim-nlc-powers-hit-7-demands