Over 5,000 Wajir residents set to receive land titles

Over 5,000 residents of Wajir municipality are set to benefit from an ongoing two-month land verification and authentication exercise aimed at facilitating the issuance of allotment letters and title deeds.

The EU/FAO-funded Digital Land Governance Programme, implemented by county and national governments, seeks to resolve long-standing land ownership disputes.

Fatuma Ahmed Yussuf, a resident and beneficiary from Bulla Jogoo in Wajir, expressed her excitement about the programme, which will eventually provide them with land titles.

"It's a dream come true. Almost 70% of Wajir residents have never owned a land title. We all believed it was a tedious process marred by corruption, usually handled in Nairobi," she said.

Abdi Alasow, a resident of the Bulla Waberi settlement, which was earmarked for the initiative, termed it a historic achievement for locals, the majority of whom have never held legal land documents.

"I’m 65 years old and have never even seen a land title deed. This is an incredible opportunity. The document will help us a lot. Sometimes, even the local courts require this document as surety, but we never had one," he said.

Abdi Issack, the Wajir County Chief Officer for Urban Development, stated that the exercise, which was launched last Wednesday, has been progressing smoothly, with many locals eager to register for land titles.

The chief officer mentioned that the exercise targets over 5,000 residents from the municipality, following the completion of planning and surveys of eleven neighbourhoods within the municipality.

Saadia Ahmed, the County Executive Committee Member for Lands, Housing, and Urban Development. (Issa Hussein)

He identified the settlements as Wagberi, Wagberi-Orahey, Halane, Bulla Jogoo, Bariago, Alimaow, Township, Madina, Hodhan, Shallettee, and Got-Rahma.

"This is a huge opportunity for residents who have never owned land titles. It will help resolve long-standing land ownership disputes and bring other benefits to those who will have their documents processed," he noted.

The chief officer explained that beneficiaries must provide an original identity card, an allotment letter from the defunct Wajir County Council, and a registration template or slip issued by the Lands Department, if available.

"After the ownership details are verified, the documents will be submitted to the National Land Commission for allotment letter processing and to the Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning for titling," he said.

He further revealed that while the current registration exercise is free, beneficiaries will need to pay fees during the title deed processing phase.

Abdi Billow, the Program Officer for the Wajir Consortium of Civil Societies, emphasised the significance of land documents for Wajir residents.

Abdi urged the national government to waive the charges associated with processing the land titles.

"This is a donor-funded programme, and we would appreciate it if the government could waive the charges, as the majority of locals are poor," he appealed.

He added that those who currently possess title deeds in Wajir are mostly wealthy individuals, while the majority, unable to afford the costs or travel to Nairobi, never imagined owning titles for their land.

Last week, during the official launch of the programme, national and county officials, led by Saadia Ahmed, the County Executive Committee Member for Lands, Housing, and Urban Development, highlighted the importance of the process and urged residents of the municipality to take advantage of this rare opportunity.