During her confirmation hearing before the Committee on Appointment on Thursday, August 1, 2024, Alice Wahome, the nominee for Cabinet Secretary for Lands, Housing, and Public Works, revealed shocking details about ministry officials aiding cartels in the fraudulent acquisition of title deeds.
Wahome, who previously served in the same position before President William Ruto dissolved his Cabinet following anti-government protests, was nominated again as part of Ruto’s reconstituted cabinet.
She was questioned by National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah about the pervasive issue of land-grabbing, which has led to many genuine property owners losing their land to fraudsters.
Ichung’wah highlighted the numerous cases of land-grabbing and the involvement of officials from the Ministry of Lands, the National Lands Commission, and the police.
“Thank you CS nominee, I will not ask questions of if you are approved because you have been the Cabinet Secretary for Lands for at least a year or so,” Ichung’wah said.
“You are aware there have been very many cases of land-grabbing around the country and we’ve also seen you on TV on some lands which were alleged to have been grabbed somewhere in Loresho and you also know of many other cases that have been brought to the attention of your former office at the Ministry of Lands.
“Cases where your Ministry officials, officials of the National Lands Commission those from the police have been involved. I would want to hear what you would do if approved or what you have been doing to curb the rampant cases of land-grabbing,” he added.
Wahome admitted that the Ministry of Lands has been plagued by corruption and described the situation as a national tragedy.
She stated, “It is true and it should be a national tragedy to have a situation where a title is not prima facie evidence of ownership. There are very many cases of fraud being carried out by fraudsters and cartels. When I say cartels, I want to clarify there are powerful cartels, there are monied.”
Wahome further revealed that ministry officials have frequently colluded with these cartels, which has emboldened fraudsters and contributed to the widespread issue.
“The cartels have reached a point where they don’t respect the title deeds, and sadly, many times or quite largely, the officers of the ministry have been in numerous cases part and parcel of procuring those titles,” she said.
To address this pervasive problem, Wahome proposed amendments to the Lands Act to enhance the security of the land registry and prevent tampering by cartels.
She emphasized the need for immediate action.
“We need to work on some amendments very quickly to the Lands Act so that the minute the registry, the technical information on the land records are known to be interfered with, to have fraudulently been secured or changed, then the chief land registrar should be able to immediately effect a cancellation.”
