Over 34, 000 title deeds are lying uncollected at the Kilifi County Land Registry Offices even as lands officials up efforts to ensure all unregistered pieces of land are registered and people given titles.
County Registrar for Titles, Stella Kinyua, told the County Development Implementation and Coordination Committee (CDICC) meeting in Kilifi township location grounds that 34, 009 titles have been processed and ready for collection by owners.
She said unlike other official government documents which can be delivered to owners through national administrators, titles are sensitive documents which have to be collected by the beneficiaries themselves.
“The turnout for those coming to collect their titles in our offices has not been encouraging as we receive an average of between three to five people in a day. Some of the beneficiaries have since died and there are no relatives coming to seek guidance for succession processes,” she said.
Kinyua revealed that Ganze Sub-county leads with 5,688 uncollected titles followed by Malindi, 3,652 and Rabai, 3,313.
On digitization of lands Registry, the Official said the programme will run in phases, beginning in Nairobi and then roll out to counties.
“We are waiting for direction from our Head Offices so that we can also be in a position to inform this Committee. There has been no communication on the project and there is nothing we can report about,” she said.
Speaking during the meeting, a mapping official from Lands Adjudication and Settlement Office, James Kinyua, who represented County Land Adjudication and Settlement Officer informed the meeting that all settlement schemes which had been identified by the government for adjudication have been dealt with and completed.
Sections where adjudication has been concluded, Kinyua said are; Marereni- Msumarini where 12,223 people have been registered and titles processed and Bungale where 1,350 beneficiaries have been registered and titles processed. Both regions are in Magarini Sub-county.
Others schemes where titles deeds had been processed are Gongoni, Lango Baya- Makobeni and Chakama Phase II all in Malindi Sub-county.
By Harrison Yeri
