The government has asked the Kenya Muslim National Advisory Council (KEMNAC) to list all the mosques, madrasas and Majengos that are sitting on land with no title deeds so that they can be registered.
During a meeting to explain the guidelines on title deeds issuance, the government gave the council at least 60 days to present a list of the facilities to the National Land Commission (NLC) so that the Ministry of Lands can start processing issuance of title deeds to the religious institutions.
Mombasa County NLC Coordinator Edward Bosire told KEMNAC that once they speed up on the listing of the land occupied by mosques and madrasas, the issuance of title deeds will commence immediately.
“We have given you guidelines on how you can list the land for the adjudication process, once you are done with all the listing, forward to us the list we start the exercise,” he said.
Bosire said that all the mosques and madrasas in the country will benefit from the initiative as this was a government directive.
He called upon officials to mobilize Imams of various mosques and bring out details as fast as possible so that they can speed up the listing process before the next general election.
“We are nearing the general election, so before we are held up with politics, kindly speed up the listing process,” he added.
Chairman of KEMNAC Sheikh Juma Ngao expressed his gratitude to President Uhuru Kenyatta for his tremendous support to the Muslim faithful saying it has been long since the group lobbied to have title deeds for their places of worship, but finally the government has heard their cry.
Ngao promised to mobilize his members effectively and deliver the list as per the scheduled time frame.
At the same time, Sheikh Ngao lauded the government saying it had now given job opportunities to Muslims in several sectors within the country.
He urged Muslim youth and women to be vigilant and apply to various positions being advertised by the government, while asking them not to only focus on religious education.
“We are asking the young people to embrace secular education and grab the limited opportunities the government is giving us, we know that we are still behind when it comes to education, that is why we need to pull the strings harder,” said Ngao.
By Chari Suche
