Economy

Verification glitch halts issuance of Waitiki land titles

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Beneficiaries of Waitiki land search through lease titles at the Lands Ministry. FILE PHOTO |

Nearly 3,000 titles for plots in the expansive Waitiki Farm are yet to be processed because the owners are unknown, Lands Cabinet Secretary Jacob Kaimenyi has said.

He added that some of the titles have also been held back by family disputes and inadequate information regarding beneficiaries, including identity card numbers.

The 780-acre farm was recently purchased by the government and distributed among thousands of settlers who invaded it decades ago.

5,007 lease titles out of the total of 7,807 have already been issued.

“The leases for the balance of 2,800 parcels have not been processed due to…some cases where the beneficiaries failed to present themselves during adjudication and verification exercises,” Mr Kaimenyi said in a statement.

“The ministry in conjunction with the National Land Commission has however embarked on phase three of the exercise which is meant to clarify all those issues to culminate to issuance of leasehold titles,” he added.

Each of the beneficiaries will pay Sh182,000 which is expected to cover the cost of the government acquiring the land and the processing fee. They will pay the amount in monthly instalments of Sh1,000.

The farm - which was owned by Evanson Waitiki - was illegally invaded by persons who started subdividing it amongst themselves and unsuspecting individuals in 1997.

Thousands have since settled on the farm, with the State last year deciding to buy the land from Mr Waitiki and formalise the settlements by dividing up the land and issuing titles.

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