Many Kwale County residents have surrendered title deeds recently issued by the national government, citing serious irregularities in the documents and raising alarm over how their land was adjudicated.
Residents said several title certificates included clauses requiring them to pay additional processing fees before ownership could be finalized—contradicting government assurances during the issuance ceremony that all costs had been fully settled.
“The title deed states that it will only be completed once the fee is paid, yet during the issuing ceremony, we were assured everything had been covered. These titles appear invalid to us, and that is why we are surrendering them back,” explained John Kassim, a resident of Lunga Lunga.
Key Concerns Raised by Residents
- Rejected by Banks: Beneficiaries who attempted to use the new title deeds as collateral for loans reported being turned away by commercial banks, which questioned the validity and financial value of the documents.
- Shrunken Plot Sizes: Residents complained that the allocated parcels were drastically smaller than the ancestral land they have occupied and cultivated for generations.
- Disregarded Traditional Boundaries: Surveyors allegedly ignored historical boundaries, subdividing family land into tiny plots.
“We have lost all hope in these titles. We expected to use them to access credit facilities to improve our lives, but we cannot,” added Moses Makelele, another affected resident.
The affected residents are returning the ownership documents through local administration offices, demanding that the Ministry of Lands conduct fresh ground surveys and correct the errors before any new title deeds are accepted.
