It has emerged that the National Land Commission (NLC) has yet to compensate Kenyans whose land was acquired by the government, with outstanding payments amounting to Ksh.70 billion. The commission’s officials failed to appear before the Senate Roads, Transportation, and Housing Committee to explain the delays, leading to a summons for them to appear on Thursday.
Committee chair Karungo Thang’wa noted that NLC has yet to compensate residents affected by the 1.4 km Mombasa Gate Bridge project, which is being funded by the Japanese government. The Ksh.120 billion project has stalled due to the government’s failure to fulfill its compensation obligations.
Thang’wa emphasized the need for the committee to take decisive action, stating, “We cannot afford to lose hope. I am summoning the NLC chairman to appear before this committee on Thursday.” NLC Chairman Gershom Otachi had requested to reschedule his appearance due to a prior engagement with Head of Public Service Felix Koskei. However, the committee expressed disappointment, stressing that further delays would deny justice to those affected.
The committee criticized the commission for holding onto billions of shillings meant for compensating Kenyans who gave up their land for state projects. NLC is responsible for compensating affected individuals after verifying ownership of the parcels.
On Monday, Thang’wa and Kitui Senator Enoch Wambua revealed that despite receiving funds from project-implementing agencies, the commission has failed to compensate landowners. For instance, residents affected by the Kibwezi-Mutomo-Kitui-Kabati-Migwani road project, launched in 2017 by former President Uhuru Kenyatta, have yet to receive payment. The project, undertaken by Sinohydro Corporation, was due for completion in May 2022.
In another case, Thang’wa disclosed that only Ksh.600 million out of the Ksh.1.9 billion owed to landowners in Kiambu for the Western Bypass construction has been paid. Similarly, for the James Gichuru-Rironi Road, Ksh.2.9 billion out of the Ksh.10.09 billion total compensation remains unpaid.
“Why are they not paying the locals? Since the 2020-21 financial year, this money is still with NLC,” Thang’wa said.
“It is a very frustrating thing. This money has been held by NLC for now more than two years going into three years. In which account does this money exist?” Wambua posed.
He added: “Who is benefiting from this interest? And if people are supposed to be compensated at market rate, the rates then are lower than today, will they consider that?”
“If a private citizen builds on government land, we send bulldozers to remove them from government land, so we cannot allow government to occupy private land. The government is trespassing, if they have not compensated the people of Kiambu, Kitui and Mombasa, they must be trespassing and we can’t wait anymore,” noted committee chair Thang’wa.
