Ministry of Lands seeks Sh35 billion to digitise records countrywide

The Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning is requesting Sh35 billion to digitise land records across Kenya, according to Cabinet Secretary Alice Wahome.

During a meeting with stakeholders in Nairobi on Wednesday, Wahome emphasised the importance of this initiative in combating land fraud, which has seen many Kenyans lose their money to deceitful dealers.

She said the ministry has already digitised land records in Nairobi and Murang'a counties.

Similar projects will be launched in Marsabit and Isiolo counties, to complete the digitisation process nationwide within five years.

"This is in a bid to contain fraudulent buying and selling of land," Wahome explained, saying many citizens have fallen victim to unscrupulous dealers.

"Many times the cartels start by influencing a few of our officers and taking away the files. When the records of the land that you own disappear, it is easy to manipulate or come up with other records and verification becomes very hard," she said.

The Cabinet Secretary also elaborated on the tactics used by con artists, noting that they often target deed files and ordinary files, making it easier to interfere with land ownership. She also revealed that some rogue officers within the ministry have been implicated in these crimes.

Digitising land information is seen as crucial for ensuring transparency within the Lands Ministry.

"With digitisation, interference of land details is going to be a thing of the past," Wahome stated.

The CS assured the public that if properly funded, the ministry could address the issue of digitisation on a national scale within the next four to five years.

In a bid to enhance service delivery, the Ministry of Lands has already integrated 96 per cent of its services into the e-Citizen platform.

Out of the ministry's 214 services, 206 are fully operational online, with the remaining eight in progress.

For the current Financial Year 2024-2025, the ministry plans to issue 280,000 title deeds and digitise key land registries in select counties, enhancing their efforts to combat land grabbing and streamline operations.

The digitisation which started in 2018 is a rigorous process which includes validation and manual verification of the records of all the departments from different state departments.

Digitisation derives its legality from the Land Registration Act No. 3 of 2012 which mandates land registrars to maintain land registers and documents relating to land in a secure, accessible, and reliable format including electronic files.

The Land Registration (Electronic Transactions) Regulations, 2020 also outline the legal framework relating to digitisation.