Government launches nationwide operation to reclaim grabbed public land
The CS said his ministry would collaborate closely with the Ministry of Lands to ensure all government land is fully documented and secured.
The government has rolled out a nationwide campaign to recover grabbed public land, with Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen warning of stern action against individuals and entities encroaching on state-owned property.
Speaking in Kitui County during the launch of the Jukwaa La Usalama tour for counties in the Lower Eastern region, Murkomen raised alarm over the growing trend of land grabbing, particularly targeting police and prison properties.
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“There is a growing appetite for seizing government land, particularly police and prisons land,” he said.
He ordered that all public land be properly surveyed and titled, directing the immediate eviction of squatters occupying the land unlawfully.
“Land is a very emotive matter and a source of insecurity. Public land grabbed must be recovered and properly titled,” he said.
“If there’s something that causes insecurity, it’s land issues. Some of the challenges reported at police stations involve matters related to land, and that’s something we must address together with the Lands department. We also have challenges with public land because a lot of it has been grabbed due to the lack of title deeds for administrative units in government offices.”
The CS said his ministry would collaborate closely with the Ministry of Lands to ensure all government land is fully documented and secured.
“The administrative units must ensure public land is protected and documents are up-to-date,” he noted.
The CS also expressed concern over increasing land conflicts involving communal and private land, especially group ranches in the Coast region and now in Lower Eastern Kenya.
“Many reported cases even here in Kitui County are about land issues, and it’s a security threat arising from clashes between farmers and herders,” he said.
Murkomen linked the rising land disputes to unresolved boundary conflicts, noting that such tensions are straining relationships between counties and constituencies.
“This debate should be escalated to Parliament, because it is about resources. Kitui, for instance, has a boundary issue with Tana River, and it’s not different in other counties,” he said.
On the issue of human-wildlife conflict, Murkomen raised concern over encroachment into national reserves, singling out the Mwingi Game Reserve as a critical area requiring enhanced security.
“We will work closely with the county government to deploy county rangers or the KWS to protect the reserves and curb criminal activities, such as illegal firearms, fights over pasture, among others,” he said.
He disclosed that Kitui County currently has 240 National Police Reservists, whom he praised for their role in crime prevention.
The CS called for regular public consultations to evaluate the effectiveness of government service delivery and address emerging security challenges.
“We are listening to the public through these engagements to get feedback and also solutions to some of the protracted challenges,” he said.
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