Malindi: The Ministry of Lands plans to waive over Sh6 billion in interest on unpaid settlement fees to help land allottees collect unclaimed title deeds nationwide, Cabinet Secretary, Alice Wahome, has disclosed. Speaking during the official opening of the Malindi Land Registry, Ms Wahome said she had already prepared a Cabinet memo and sent it to the Attorney General and the Cabinet Secretary-In-Charge of the National Treasury, with a view to having interest on the fees waived.

According to Kenya News Agency, the CS was responding to requests by Kilifi leaders who said thousands of local residents had been unable to collect their title deeds due to the huge debts owed to the Settlement Fund Trust (SFT) and called for a waiver on the interests to enable them to pay up. The leaders, who included Malindi Governor Gideon Mung’aro, National Assembly Deputy Majority Leader Owen Baya (Kilifi North), Kaloleni and Malindi MPs Paul Katana and Amina Mnyazi, and former Magarini MP, Harrison Kombe, said the fees had hindered the residents from collecting their titles.

Mrs. Wahome acknowledged that thousands of title deeds lay uncollected in various land registries across the country, with 33,000 documents lying unclaimed at the new Malindi Land Registry. She asked beneficiaries of settlement schemes to promptly pay the ‘small fees’ and collect their ownership documents, saying title deeds should be kept in safe custody by holders for the security of their land.

Mrs. Wahome at the same time announced that she had given instructions to Ministry officials to close all settlement schemes that have been outstanding since 1960 and issue title deeds to beneficiaries so that discharge is made available. She asked foreigners holding title deeds on freehold and 999-year leases to surrender them and be issued with 99 leases in accordance with government policy arising from the Kenya Constitution 2010.

Wahome said some 7,000 new title deeds had been processed for various settlement schemes and adjudication sections in Kilifi County and that she would soon return to the coastal County, to issue them to beneficiaries. She said more than 170,000 land transaction documents had been transferred to the new Malindi Land Registry, which is expected to serve Malindi and Magarini Sub-counties.

She said that adjudication work is currently ongoing in several areas of Kilifi County, including Kibokoni, Chakama Phase 3, Adu/Kamale, Pumwani Phase 3, and Wakala. To handle the increasing demand, Wahome announced the planned establishment of three new land control boards to supplement the current two in Kilifi County.

Kilifi Governor Gideon Mung’aro called on land officers to collaborate with residents to resolve disputes and ensure smooth processing of land documents. He emphasised that cooperation between officials and communities is vital in addressing land injustices and preventing future conflicts. He urged investors wishing to acquire land in the County to follow the right channels to avoid conflicts with the local administration and residents.

Local residents expressed joy at the opening of the Land Registry in Malindi, saying it would be easier for them to carry out land transactions without having to travel to Kilifi or Mombasa for the same. They also hoped the office would help end the squatter menace in the area.

Professor Hassan Naji Said, a prominent coastal scholar and leader, praised the government’s efforts but also made a passionate appeal for the number of judicial officers in the Environment and Land Court to be increased. ‘The government should seriously consider posting more judicial officers in the Environment and Land Court in Malindi to reduce the current case backlog,’ he said.