This is the gendered impact of amendments to the Land Act
A section of grabbed public land at Shabab Ward, Nakuru County, on August 10, 2018.
What you need to know:
- The right holders who are the women need to be heard.
- The amendments should be disseminated to the women for them to give their views.
Presently, the National Assembly is seeking comments from the public on the Land (Amendment) Bill, 2022, which intends to amend Section 12 of the Land Act (2012) on allocation of public land.
The proposed amendments introduce provisions allowing registration of public land, such that the registrar of lands can issue a certificate of title to a public entity for the public land allocated by the National Land Commission.
The registrar is also to register land set aside by people or land-buying companies for a public purpose, but it’s silent on issuance of certificate of title.
But how will these amendments affect women? I speak to Faith Alubbe, chief executive officer at Kenya Land Alliance.
What's the gendered impact of the amendments?
First of all, the bill seeks to introduce new provisions on the management and administration of public land. The issue of special groups like women is missing from the bill.
What about the women who live on public land in areas like Nairobi and others where colonial legacies exist? The bill is not clear whether such women have a right to demand interests in the property.
The bill talks about government-to-government land allocation and we were wondering if women are in these lands.
Isn’t it important to note that the Matrimonial Property Act points out how matrimonial property should be divided.
There was a clause where they were talking about reciprocal interventions between State to State in instances where there are large scale investments, the gendered impact of amendment of Section 12 is not clear.
How would you describe the women's awareness of the amendments?
It’s quite sad to note that women haven’t been involved in the public participation process of amending Section 12 of the Land Act (2012) through the Land Amendment Bill (2022).
It has been a practice with this government to make policy decisions in exclusion of the right holders, yet they are the ones impacted.
The right holders who are the women need to be heard. The amendments should be disseminated to the women for them to give their views.
Who is to blame?
The government is to blame for the failure to distribute the proposed amendments. The law provides that when a policy decision is being made, the government should make deliberate efforts to engage the public by sharing the information. So the government has the responsibility to educate the women of the amendments and invite them to submit their contributions.
What's the danger of excluding women in the making of land-related laws?
It’s dangerous to exclude a section of the population from decision-making. Remember Article 10 of the Constitution talks about inclusion. Article 27(3) talks about non-discrimination. So, the government should not be a perpetrator of injustices against women. The government is the custodian of the law. It should ensure there is participation, inclusion and engagement of the women. Policies that exclude women should be challenged in the court of law because they lack social legitimacy.
Has KLA raised its voice about the amendments?
KLA brought together organisations working with women across Kenya to look at the amendments and the engendered impact of the amendments. Collectively, they wrote a memorandum, which they submitted to the clerk of the National Assembly, and we hope our recommendations will be acted upon.
