Thousands of Schools at Risk as Land Grabbing Crisis Worsens

Thousands of Schools at Risk as Land Grabbing Crisis Worsens.

Thousands of public schools nationwide remain without land ownership documents, making them vulnerable to land grabbers and ongoing legal disputes. The absence of title deeds also impedes development, depriving students of a conducive learning environment.

A 2023 report by the Shule Yangu Campaign Alliance highlighted that 4,100 schools had formally reported the risk of losing their properties due to the lack of ownership documents.

The findings also indicated that out of Kenya’s 32,643 public schools, only 11,974 had received title deeds, accounting for just 37% of institutions.

In January 2015, retired President Uhuru Kenyatta directed that all public primary and secondary schools be issued title deeds. However, progress has been slow, leaving many schools unprotected.

School heads have expressed concerns that the situation exposes learners to criminal elements such as drug peddlers and sexual predators. One Nairobi head teacher noted that their inability to fence the school due to the lack of legal documents allowed unrestricted access, endangering students.

Makadara MP George Aladwa emphasized that securing school land is not merely a legal issue but a matter of protecting students’ futures. He pointed out that without proper ownership, their education, safety, and well-being remain compromised.

Audits and Persistent Land Grabbing Challenges

In response to the crisis, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba instructed regional and county directors of education to conduct audits of school land and secure title deeds where they were missing.

He assured that the Ministry of Lands would collaborate to prevent encroachment. Despite these efforts, land grabbing remains widespread.

Nairobi has a particularly high number of schools at risk, with 26 primary and secondary institutions facing encroachment. An example is Garden Estate Secondary School in Roysambu, built in 2014 with CDF funds at a cost of over Sh70 million.

The school shares land with Garden Estate Primary School, legally allocated in 1966. However, three private developers claim ownership of seven acres, leading to continuous legal battles.

A teacher at the school described the situation as an ongoing struggle, stating that while other boundaries were permanent, theirs remained temporary, suggesting someone was waiting for an opportunity to seize the land.

Despite winning a court case in 2017 affirming ownership, the threat to Garden Estate Secondary persists. The teacher believed that certain individuals were attempting to put the government in a difficult position to justify eviction.

Other Schools Facing Encroachment

Highway Secondary School in Makadara, Lavington Girls Secondary in Dagoretti North, and Buruburu Girls are among other institutions embroiled in land disputes. Private developers have constructed residential houses on their land, endangering students and teachers.

Highway Secondary School Principal Irungu Nduati recounted a recent incident where intruders attempted to forcefully remove teachers from staff quarters without legal documentation.

St. Catherine’s Primary School in South B has already lost nearly eight acres. In 2015, parents and students marched to the office of the then Lands CS Charity Ngilu, demanding intervention.

Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association (KESSHA) chairman Willie Kuria attributed the problem to the lack of documentation, which makes it easy for fraudulent developers to forge ownership papers.

He noted that despite submitting data on all schools two years ago, there had been no feedback from authorities.

Johnston Nzioka, the Kenya Primary Schools Heads Association (KEPSHA) chairman, also highlighted the challenges, stating that many primary schools were sponsored by religious organizations that held the title deeds and were reluctant to transfer them to the government.

This has delayed the process of securing ownership under the Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury.

Another complication arises in schools that share land with churches. A head teacher mentioned that church activities, such as Sunday services and meetings, create difficulties in controlling students’ exposure to external influences, including drug abuse.

Lands Cabinet Secretary Alice Wahome acknowledged the widespread issue of illegal land seizures in schools.

She stated that the government was forming regional teams to address the problem and urged school leaders and communities to act by submitting their land documentation to Ardhi House.

Wahome emphasized the importance of documenting and reporting ownership issues to the Ministry for prompt action.

Legislative and Policy Challenges

Ruiru MP Simon King’ara, who sponsored the Public Land Amendment Bill in 2018 to expedite school land registration, expressed frustration over the slow progress. He noted that despite his bill becoming law, many schools remained at risk, and data provided to the government had not yielded any action.

Dagoretti North MP Beatrice Elachi urged the government to take swift action to protect school property from land grabbers. She found it alarming that individuals could walk into schools and construct buildings without consequence.

Data from the National Land Commission (NLC) shows that each school in Kenya holds an average of five to seven acres of land. A senior NLC official attributed the crisis to the absence of a coherent public land policy.

He explained that while the Ministry of Lands holds land records and the Survey of Kenya manages maps, NLC has been sidelined, creating a fragmented system that benefits corrupt officials and land cartels.

While urban schools contend with aggressive land speculation, rural institutions face their own struggles. In Kwale County, an excavation on an eight-acre section of Mwamdudu Primary School’s land led to student injuries, with some suffering broken limbs.

A teacher at the school described the emotional distress experienced by students, who were forced to worry about their school’s future instead of focusing on their education.

Across Kenya’s 47 counties, progress in securing title deeds varies. Some regions have successfully processed ownership documents, while others remain unprotected. In North Eastern, Mandera County has secured title deeds for 321 of its 334 schools.

However, Garissa (256 schools), Wajir (311 schools), and Marsabit (231 schools) still lack documentation.

Similarly, Turkana (473 schools), Samburu (215 schools), and Tana River (300 schools) have yet to title any public school land, leaving them vulnerable to future land disputes.

Thousands of Schools at Risk as Land Grabbing Crisis Worsens

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