The Africa Research Institute (ARI) has released its latest ‘Counterpoint’ publication, entitled Whose Land Is It Anyway? The failure of land law reform in Kenya.
Land is a key fault line in Kenya. Throughout East Africa, land reform has failed to confront the material consequences of unequal access. Since the 1990s, law reform has been the favoured means of addressing contentious land issues.
Bilateral and multilateral donors have promoted the rule of law, administrative justice, formalisation of tenure, promotion of individual title, encouragement of property markets and technical solutions – the cornerstone of what has been termed ‘global land policy’. This template has led to land law reform, at the expense of substantive land reform.
New laws have not been redistributive or transformative in a positive way. Longstanding grievances and injustices have not been addressed. Legislation has failed to curtail predatory bureaucracies which in turn have stymied reform through delaying tactics and sabotage. After adopting a progressive National Land Policy and new constitution, Kenya missed a real opportunity to enshrine in law their radical principles for land reform.
Click here to read or download this ‘Counterpoint’ publication free of charge.
