Kephis lacks titles for 210-acre land in Kitale

Plant health monitor Kephis could lose more than 210 acres that has been grabbed or allocated to 48 private individuals in Kitale, Trans Nzoia County.

The Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (Kephis) told Parliament that it has fenced only 120 acres out of the 330 acres it received from the Kenya Agricultural Livestock Research Organisation (Kalro), the successor to Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (Kari). Kalro does not have title documents for ownership of the 330 acres of land.

Kephis was hived off from Kalro in 1996 and allocated several parcels of land in Nakuru, Muguga in Kiambu and Kitale in Trans Nzoia.

“We need to inform you that you never own that land because the people who were supposed to give you that land own 10 acres. The National land Commission (NLC) has informed you that people have been given leases and allotment letters for the 210 acres you now claim to own,” Abdulswamad Nassir, who chairs the Public Investments Committee (PIC), said.

Esther Kimani, the Kephis chief executive officer, said the inspectorate has failed to secure title deeds for 11 parcels of land valued at Sh258 million.

“We don’t have any document on the land that we own. We also don’t have any letter of allotment. But we are processing titles but recovery of encroached land been a challenge,” Ms Kimani said on audit queries.

Auditor General Edward Ouko said the problem is bigger because Kari or Kalro do not have ownership documents for the properties passed to Kephis.

He said the land in Kitale has been encroached by developers and squatters.

A letter from the NLC tabled by Ms Kimani shows that the 48 private developers and grabbers have been allocated leases.

Mr Ouko has since 2014 cited the lack of title deeds, saying Kephis was yet to recover 91.2 hectares of land in Trans Nzoia County.