Wahome says 33,000 title deeds lie uncollected at Malindi office

Lands, Public Works, Housing, and Urban Development Cabinet Secretary Alice Wahome has opened a Land Registry to serve Malindi and Magarini areas of Kilifi County.

Speaking during the opening ceremony of the registry in Malindi town on Thursday, Wahome said the facility will ease the burden of residents who have been traveling long distances to get land-related services. 

Wahome also appealed to residents of the county to collect their land title deeds, revealing that over 33,000 titles remain unclaimed in the area. 

“Now that the titles are near you, please come pick them up. Don’t sell land carelessly. Titles are not safer in land offices than in your hands,” said Wahome. 

The CS said 7,730 title deeds are ready for issuance from the new registry, including those of Weru Group Ranch (5,881 titles), Mwele Simakeni (1,363 titles), and Msabaha (486 titles). 

Wahome also pledged to tackle challenges posed by land cartels, urging all stakeholders to work together to ensure transparency and fairness in land transactions. 

“This region is notorious for professional squatters, whom I refer to as permanent and pensionable, and they move from one adjudication scheme to another claiming compensation. We have a database where such people will be mopped up,” she added.

Speaking during the event, Kilifi Governor Gideon Mung’aro urged Lands officers to assist Kenyans as efficiently as possible and expressed his delight at the opening of the new land offices. 

“We have a new system where we will not allow those who benefit from one settlement scheme to move to a new adjudication scheme for compensation. Instead, we will enter their details into the digital system and block them,” he said. 

Malindi MP Amina Mnyazi, on her part, said that residents will no longer need to travel long distances to get services and urged residents with outstanding land issues to visit the registry for help. 

“To me, this office is a relief because many people were spending a lot of time and money travelling to Kilifi, Mombasa, and Nairobi to have their land matters resolved. They will no longer need to solicit funds for bus fare and accommodation to far-flung areas,” she said. 

Her Kilifi North counterpart Owen Baya said the registry will be a significant change, and it will wipe out land brokers and fraudsters who took advantage of the difficulties in accessing land offices to defraud residents. 

The area has had long-standing historical land injustices with rampant land grabbing and squatter problems that have led to chaos and deaths over decades.