Land Justice and Digital Transformation Take Centre Stage at Nairobi Conference.
By Maximilla Wafula, The County Diary Reporter.
Nairobi, Kenya — May 20, 2025- A bold call for justice, digitization, and equity in land administration marked the opening of Kenya’s Fourth Regional Research Conference on Land Reforms at the Kenya School of Government on Monday.
The three-day event, themed "Taking Stock of the Land Reform Progress in Kenya," is not just a review of milestones—it’s a reckoning with deeply rooted challenges that continue to haunt the land sector. Stakeholders from government, judiciary, civil society, finance, and academia are gathered to evaluate progress and forge new paths toward transparent, inclusive, and lawful land governance.
Representing Principal Secretary Hon. Generali Nixon Korir, Land Secretary Sarah Maina highlighted that automation and innovation are now defining the ministry’s transformation. “We are no longer working in the dark. The Ardhisasa platform, now active in Nairobi, Mombasa, and Murang’a, is a powerful tool for transparency and efficiency,” she said.
The conference spotlighted some of the State Department's major strides: over two million title deeds issued, six new land registries operationalized, and more than 40,000 landless households resettled. Yet, digital divides and austerity measures pose real obstacles.
Justice Oscar Omugo Angote, Presiding Judge of the Environment and Land Court, delivered one of the event’s most impassioned speeches, framing the land issue as a matter of justice and ethics. “Land fraud is not a technical failure—it’s a moral one. We must break the culture of impunity in land dealings,” he declared.
Justice Angote called for mandatory geo-referencing of all parcels and emphasized the judiciary's frustration over rising land-related disputes, especially due to weak zoning enforcement. “Without collaboration between planners, lawyers, and government agencies, the law remains on paper alone,” he warned.
Also weighing in was National Bank Director George Odhiambo, who reframed land not just as capital, but as community, identity, and opportunity. “When land ownership is informal and gender-biased, economic growth is limited. Secure tenure is a gateway to credit and development,” he said, reaffirming the bank’s commitment to inclusive financing tied to digitized land rights.
Key figures in attendance included Kabale Tache of the National Land Commission and ISK President Eric Nyadimo, with researchers and regional policy experts also contributing to panel sessions.
As discussions continue, expectations are high that the forum will yield actionable recommendations, pushing Kenya closer to a land governance system that truly serves all citizens—especially the historically marginalized.
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