Ministry to Investigate and Recover Grabbed School Lands.
Lands Cabinet Secretary Alice Wahome has called upon Kenyans to submit documents concerning school lands that have been grabbed. She emphasized that individuals aware of such cases should compile the necessary paperwork and present it to her office.
School principals, headteachers, and local communities have been instructed to gather land ownership documents and deliver them to Ardhi House. This initiative aims to aid the Ministry in forming specialized teams to oversee the restoration of school lands to their rightful institutions.
Public schools remain highly susceptible to land grabbing, with reports indicating that approximately 70 percent of them lack official ownership documents for the land on which they are built. This makes them easy targets for encroachment by private developers.
During an inspection of a local market in South B, Wahome reaffirmed the Ministry’s commitment to reclaiming all grabbed school lands and securing those currently under threat. She assured stakeholders that necessary steps would be taken to return occupied lands to the respective schools.
While outlining her plans, Wahome highlighted her forthcoming effort to reclaim Lavington Primary School’s land. The institution has been locked in a prolonged dispute, as private developers have persistently attempted to seize the property.
She announced her scheduled visit to Lavington Primary School the following week. She urged principals, headteachers, and community members aware of land-grabbing incidents involving schools to prepare documentation and bring it to her attention. This, she noted, would facilitate the establishment of teams dedicated to land recovery efforts.
Formation of Task Force
Wahome disclosed that an eight-member team would be deployed across various regions to investigate and resolve cases of school land grabbing. She acknowledged that the lack of proper documentation is a significant factor contributing to schools losing their lands.
However, she reassured the public that the Ministry is actively working to address this issue and return public lands to educational institutions.
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Lavington Primary School has been embroiled in its land dispute for over a decade, as private developers continue efforts to take over the property.
As of 2019, statistics revealed that only 30 percent of the 32,354 public schools had secured title deeds. This left over 22,648 schools at risk of land grabbing, with approximately 4,100 already reporting direct threats to their properties.
Ministry to Investigate and Recover Grabbed School Lands
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