Land commission chairman Mohammed Swazuri (right) and Lands Cabinet secretary Charity Ngilu. Photos/FILE
The National Land Commission and Cabinet secretary Charity Ngilu are yet to reach a deal over the temporary closure of key offices as talks between the two drag on.
State lawyer Stella Munyi, representing Ms Ngilu, on Monday told Justice David Majanja that the talks are not complete but are at an advanced stage.
This come on a day the two were to record the outcome of talks after the commission sued Ms Ngilu over her closure of the central national lands registry for 10 days starting last Monday.
The judge asked the commission and Ms Ngilu, along with the Attorney General, to appear in court on Wednesday to report on the status of the negotiations.
The NLC has termed the 10-day closure illegal and said it has prevented the commission from discharging its constitutional functions and that “strangers” have taken over operations at Ardhi House.
The minister has publicly stated that her action was meant to clear inefficiency that has widely been blamed for vices such as corruption in the Lands ministry. She received support from President Uhuru Kenyatta when he made an impromptu visit to Ardhi House last Thursday.
Registration of land documents, searches, stamp duty payments, land rates payment and application for valuation and processing will be stalled for the 10-day period.
Other affected transactions include payment of allotments, application for subdivision of land, settlement programmes and land adjudication.
This will make it difficult to transact on land or use it as collateral for loans in a freeze that will hit commercial banks and property dealers.
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