Kwale Residents Return Title Deeds Issued by Ruto Over Alleged Irregularities

Kwale Residents Return Title Deeds Issued by Ruto Over Alleged Irregularities

A section of residents in Kwale County has returned title deeds issued under the government’s land settlement programme, citing alleged errors in the documents and concerns over the size and allocation of their land.

The residents say some of the title deeds contain conditions requiring them to pay additional fees before the documents can be completed, despite being assured that the necessary payments had already been made during the issuance exercise.

The complaints have raised questions among affected beneficiaries about whether the documents can be used to establish ownership and access financial services, including bank loans.

John Kassim, a resident of Lunga Lunga, said the conditions stated in the documents had left some beneficiaries uncertain about their validity.

“The title deed reads that it will only be completed when the fee is paid, but when they were being issued, we were told that the amount had been paid. These are titles that to us appear invalid, and as such we are surrendering them back,” Kassim said.

The residents said they were returning the documents to the government so that the alleged errors could be investigated and corrected before the title deeds were reissued.

Residents Question Validity of Title Deeds

Some beneficiaries also expressed frustration over their inability to use the documents to secure loans from commercial banks.

They said they had expected the title deeds to provide security for financial arrangements but encountered difficulties when they attempted to use them.

Moses Makelele, one of the affected residents, said the situation had undermined their confidence in the documents.

“We have lost hope in them. We expected that we could even use the title deeds to access arrangements like loans, but we cannot,” Makelele said.

The residents want the relevant government agencies to review the disputed documents and clarify whether the outstanding conditions and fees are legitimate.

However, the claims about the validity of the title deeds and the reasons banks reportedly declined to accept them had not been independently established.

Dispute Over Size of Land Parcels

Beyond the alleged documentation errors, the residents have questioned the size of the parcels allocated to some beneficiaries.

They claim that some households received smaller plots than the land they had previously occupied, cultivated or expected to inherit.

The latest complaints follow similar concerns raised weeks earlier by another group of Kwale residents who rejected title deeds issued under the government’s settlement programme.

Those residents reportedly objected to allocations measuring 50 by 100 feet, arguing that the parcels were smaller than the ancestral land they had occupied and cultivated.

Affected households have also raised concerns about land subdivision as the population grows. They claim that some properties have been allocated to several households, leaving disputes over boundaries and ownership, while some original occupants have allegedly remained without title documents.

The complaints highlight the challenges of resolving longstanding land disputes in the Coast region, where questions of historical occupation, settlement and documentation have affected many families.

Ruto Issued More Than 94,000 Title Deeds

President William Ruto issued more than 94,000 title deeds in Kwale County in October as part of the government’s efforts to address land ownership disputes and squatter challenges along the Coast.

More than 26,000 documents were distributed to residents in Lunga Lunga Constituency during the exercise.

At the time, Ruto said the government was targeting the issuance of 500,000 title deeds to beneficiaries across the Coast by the end of 2026.

The programme was presented as part of efforts to address longstanding land ownership concerns and provide beneficiaries with formal documentation of their property rights.

Residents Ask Ruto to Intervene

The affected residents are now calling on the President to intervene, review the disputed certificates and ensure that corrected title deeds reflect the land allocations agreed upon.

They want the government to establish whether the reported errors resulted from administrative mistakes, unpaid charges or disputes over the original allocation of land.

The residents have also called for renewed attention to households that say they were left out of the settlement process or received smaller parcels than expected.

The government’s response to the latest complaints will be important in determining how the disputed documents are handled and whether affected beneficiaries receive revised title deeds.

For the residents, the priority is to obtain documents they can rely on to establish ownership, protect their land rights and access services that require proof of property ownership.

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Kwale Residents Return Title Deeds Issued by Ruto Over Alleged Irregularities