Environment Cabinet Secretary Soipan Tuya has announced that the government will revoke all title deeds for individuals with land parcels in gazetted forests.
CS Tuya pointed out that the land title deeds are held illegally, giving an assurance however that genuine titles held by institutions involved in research would be converted into special-use licenses.
Soipan Tuya spoke during her visit to Oloolua Forest in Kajiado North County, which has been marred with reports of land grabbing, concluded that the revocation of all land title deeds held by individuals and organizations in gazetted forests is illegal.
“For deserving entities involved in noble activities including research in gazetted forests across the Country, their titles shall be converted into special use licenses to be issued by the Kenya Forest Service (KFS),” she announced.
However, she did not detail the exact date when the revocations will be made but said that she will engage her counterpart Alice Wahome who is in charge of the Lands docket. Further on, the speaker emphasized the government’s stance against individuals who take forest land, emphasizing the need for environmental conservation.
The visit by the CS came days after Kenya Forest Service (KFS) issued a statement allaying fears that private developers had grabbed land belonging to the forest which is also a tourist destination.
To add on, Oloolua locals last week protested against an alleged grabbing of 66 acres of forest land near the Kenya Nuclear Regulatory Authority. However, KFS has since denied the claims saying no one has been allocated the land in question.
“Following public concerns regarding the alleged grabbing of a parcel of Oloolua Forest in Kajiado County, L.R no. 23269, Kenya Forest Service seeks to make a clarification on the matter. The portion of land in question is currently occupied by four government agencies. There is absolutely no individual who has been allocated land within Oloolua forest,” KFS had said.
By Alice Gworo
