The government decided to withdraw the controversial Land Laws (Amendment) Bill 2023, fearing it would trigger public anger if it appeared to be amending the Constitution covertly. At the time of withdrawal, the Bill, which proposed an annual levy on freehold land and sought to reduce the National Land Commission’s (NLC) powers by transferring key functions to the Lands Cabinet Secretary, was under review by the House’s Lands Committee.
The Bill, sponsored by Leader of Majority Kimani Ichung’wah, aimed to amend six Land Acts: the Registration of Documents Act, Land Control Act, Land Registration Act, Land Act, Community Land Act, and the Sectional Properties Act. As the Kikuyu Member of Parliament and by virtue of his position, Ichung’wah signs all government Bills introduced in the National Assembly.
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On June 13, aware of the opposition and public disapproval the Bill had generated, Ichung’wah formally informed House Speaker Moses Wetang’ula of the government’s intention to withdraw the Bill. “Having consulted with the relevant stakeholders, this is now to confirm that the majority party has withdrawn the Bill,” Ichung’wah wrote to the Speaker. He requested that the House Business Committee, chaired by the Speaker, be notified of the withdrawal and that “no further consideration of the Bill should be undertaken.”
The NLC, a constitutional commission responsible for spearheading land reforms in the country, stood to lose significant functions. The Bill sought to transfer the NLC’s responsibilities for land valuation and compulsory acquisition on behalf of national and county governments to the Lands Cabinet Secretary. It also proposed removing the NLC’s mandate to inspect land, conduct investigations, pay compensation to affected landowners, and participate in land lease renewals, transferring these duties to the Lands CS.
Public outrage was particularly intense over the proposal to introduce rates on freehold land, which would effectively turn landowners into lessees of the government, risking loss of their land if they failed to pay the rates. Most ancestral land in Kenya is freehold, owned without any government-imposed fees.
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The proposed new clause 54A of the Bill stated, “The owner of any freehold land situated within the boundaries of any urban area or city shall pay an annual land levy equivalent to land rent charged on a comparable leasehold land or property of the same zone.” It included a provision that freehold land used for agriculture might be exempt from the annual levy.
This proposal was contrary to the Supreme Court Advisory opinion of 2014, which confirmed that the Land Act’s provisions were consistent with the Constitution regarding the NLC’s mandate to protect public interests. NLC Chief Executive Officer Kabale Tache opposed the imposition of an annual levy on freehold land, calling it to double taxation, and stated that freehold interests are superior, with no landlord to whom rent could be owed.
The Bill also proposed creating a Land Compensation Inquiry Committee to take over the NLC’s role in determining compensation for compulsory land acquisition and sought to amend the NLC Act to remove time limits for reviewing grants and dispositions of public land, allowing historical land injustice claims to be heard beyond 2026.
Upon withdrawing the Bill, Ichung’wah noted the various constitutional and legal issues it raised and mentioned the need for these issues to be resolved before further consideration. He informed the Lands Committee not to prioritize the Bill’s consideration to allow for consultations with the Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning and the NLC.
The formal withdrawal of a Bill is usually followed by a communication from the Speaker, but there is no record of such communication from Speaker Wetang’ula.
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